In case you missed my article today in the Patriot News:
New mayor should plan for foot, bike transport
Throughout Harrisburg’s mayoral campaign, I’ve listened to both candidates express their views on public safety, while turning a blind eye to one of our city’s greatest dangers: our transportation infrastructure.
As a daily pedestrian and cyclist in Harrisburg, I believe that the greatest threat to my personal safety on the streets comes from distracted drivers, not the shadowy figure in a dark alley.
I’ve heard both candidates emphasize the need to bring economic opportunity to all of Harrisburg’s citizens, while ignoring one of the biggest barriers to achieving this goal: Moving between the city’s housing centers and job centers can be difficult.
At a recent town hall event, I asked Nevin Mindlin and Linda Thompson what concrete steps they would take to make Harrisburg’s streets safer and more convenient for pedestrians and cyclists. Instead of sharing their policy ideas, both candidates avoided offering any real commitments to the changes that would make Harrisburg a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city.
Mindlin advocated the development of a human-scale city without outlining the details of how to achieve this. Thompson touted the Capital Area Greenbelt, the multiuse path encircling the city, as an example of good pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.
While Harrisburg is lucky to have this resource, the greenbelt’s location along the city’s edges limits its usefulness for regular transportation. The greenbelt is the perfect place to walk a dog, but it is not conducive to cross-town travel.
It is in the heart of the city that people are commuting by foot and by pedal, and these are the places where City Hall has forgotten the citizens’ needs.
Safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure isn’t for the spandex-clad racers. It is for those who might not have the option to drive: the elderly, the disabled, the poor and the young.
Through the slow degradation of the city’s crosswalks and sidewalks and the dearth of bike lanes, Harrisburg has neglected the safety of those who need our help and has failed to give them the tools they need to connect to goods and services.
In order for Harrisburg to live up to its potential as a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city, the next administration should commit to implementing a complete streets policy.
Under this plan, all city departments would give full consideration to the safety and convenience of all users whenever maintenance and upgrades are made to the city’s transportation infrastructure.
Over time, this policy would work toward ensuring that pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transport riders are all able to safely and comfortably move across our street network.
One place that is particularly in need of attention is the east-west corridor between Allison Hill and the downtown business district. The train tracks and industrial area separating these two neighborhoods have always made transportation between them problematic.
While the city has met the needs of motorists by maintaining two bridges and two underpasses for car travel, not a single safe bike route connects the jobs located downtown to the work force on the Hill.
The next administration should also designate a pedestrian and bicycle coordinator within City Hall. This would foster a connection between the administration and pedestrians and cyclists, and it would ensure that there is an advocate to voice the needs of these groups.
With all the discussion of public safety and economic opportunity in this year’s mayoral campaign, both candidates have missed the mark on the intersection of these two goals: providing safe and convenient connections between the city’s work force and job markets.
A complete streets policy would make great strides toward achieving this.
Josh Karns is a Harrisburg resident and the communications coordinator for 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania.
Hear hear!