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Design Ideas for FairfieldSolutions for Human Transportation NeedsPedestrian and Bicycle Friendly Fairfield
"The environment is not just physical,it's an interactive relationship with people."Samora El Ghoz Leme,Environmental Education Director, Curitiba, Brazil
Roads Gone Wild Do you ever see things in Fairfield that you would like to see changed? Of course all of us have had ideas that start with; “If I were President, I would…..”, or “If I could rip out the old infrastructure and start over, then I would….”. But in the case of Fairfield, erasing what exists now to replace it with some ideal is just not feasible. So what can we do now with our hindsight and knowledge that will change Fairfield forever? Do you have what it takes to make Fairfield a Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendly city? Would you like to see the place you live in on this list? http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/index.htm Another reason to consider redesigning Fairfield is the recent attention given to Fairfield as a tourist destination. Lucky for us, Fairfield is not expected to draw crowds on the order of those seen at Disney Land for example, but even so, making Fairfield more walkable and bicycle friendly would be one more reason for outsiders to bring tourist dollars to Fairfields economy. My observation has been that cities and towns in America are not planned for ease of movement for the citizenry unless you have an automobile. It seems that subdivisions and commercial strip malls are added wherever there seems to be available land without much regard given to how to make such places easily accessible to all of the population instead of just the gas-guzzling auto drivers. The chosen land for new development is usually located on the outskirts of the city or town. Does this really make sense while within cities and towns previously developed land lies vacant, even though it is within much easier reach of the majority of the local population? While I know people who regularly bicycle everywhere, from trips to Wal-Mart to excursions on the bike trails, I personally wouldn’t feel safe bicycling to some destinations within Fairfield just because of the lack of access and visibility given to pedestrians and bicyclists. Here I wish to propose some changes that could be implemented by both the local government as well as by individuals that would make Fairfield a great place to live, walk and bike in. In the US, sprawl is like a thief in the night. It comes to take away our green spaces and requires greater expenditure of energy by any mode of transport to get from point A to point B. Did you know that the shortest distance between two points is to move them closer together? I think my high school math teacher would be surprised to hear this, yet the logic is so simple who could argue against it? One simple action would be to encourage potential businesses interested in locating to Fairfield to redevelop land that is within the city already. Many businesses are reluctant to redevelop land and would rather start over from scratch on the outskirts. One reason against redevelopment is that it is too expensive, a building is not worth remodeling to suit the business or needs to be torn down completely. This logic works only if you consider a small part of the picture. Here’s another small part of the picture to consider. How much money could be saved by a business if its workers could easily and safely bike or walk to and from work? Studies have already shown that workers who get more exercise are healthier and cost the business less in medical insurance and productivity lost due to illness. The business would most likely incur a large cost upfront in redeveloping the land, but the potential savings of healthy employees will continue to grow every year, especially as health care costs have continued to skyrocket for many businesses over the past several years. Another angle to approach this from would be the city zoning regulations. One city that used its zoning regulations in an innovative way is Curitiba, Brazil. The road system is set up with dedicated roads for bus routes, and high density homes such as apartment buildings are allowed to be built only next to the bus routes. Read more here: Curitba Brazil , or here: More Curitiba This type of action would need to see joint effort from the local government as well as from concerned citizens who wish to see sprawl stopped. Another potential way to make Fairfield more human friendly over car friendly would be to upgrade the many alleyways into human transportation corridors. Fairfield’s alleys currently see auto, foot and bike traffic. I propose cutting off automobile traffic from using the alleyways. This would be the first step. I regularly walk or bike through some of the alleyways in Fairfield. I think the alleys are under-utilized. Do you think the alleyways would be under-used if they were beautiful places with shade? It would be quite easy to plant hardy fruit trees, bushes and flowers along the alleyway giving those traveling through something beautiful to appreciate and the opportunity to grab a snack along the way. Initially it might be best to plant things that would require little or no maintenance, but as the idea became more popular and entrenched, plantings of more sensitive varieties could be added. The reason for this is to prevent the failure of original plantings. The goal is to make the alleys more beautiful, and planting things that are hardy would ensure initial success that would easily become long-term. It would add significant opportunity for members of the community to interact as pedestrians and bicyclists are much more likely to slow down for a chat. This is a place that would allow community members a greater chance to feel more connected to the place and people in their immediate surroundings. A project such as this could be developed and maintained by local school programs. Another option is to allow homeowners who have land adjacent to an alley to plant and maintain their local alleyway. So many options are available with a plan such as this. You could place public benches that would provide a sense of leisure as people travel through. You could attract birds and butterflies with the right plantings making your alley more like a narrow corridor of beautiful greenery rather than a barren dusty eyesore. You wouldn't even have to do this to all of the alleyways. If greening the alleyways is done in a well thought out manner, they could compliment potential transportation upgrades that are available to Fairfield as mentioned in the U of I report on Fairfields Bikeway and Walkway Plan. I would also highly suggest that people interested in seeing Fairfield become more human friendly review the University of Iowa Bikeway and Walkway Plan for Fairfield that was completed in 2006 by students from the University of Iowa. There are many well thought out recommendations there that would greatly improve walking and bicycling conditions in Fairfield. One special area of interest that could be a great opportunity for Fairfield would be the transfer of Burlington Avenue back to the city after the completion of the US 34 bypass. Currently Burlington Ave. is all for cars and trucks. In the U of I plan, it is suggested that with the reduced traffic flow that Burligton Ave. could be cut back to a 2 lane road with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes in each direction. This restriping of Burlington Ave. could be done at no cost to the city if it is negotiated with the state at the time of hand-off. This is a one-time opportunity for the city. There are also recommendations to connect each area of Fairfield with the town center. Proper bicycle and walkways could be implemented to connect isolated neighborhoods with the rest of the town. Some local resources that could assist with some of the above suggestions would be Jim Blair at Jefferson County Trails Council, and the Fairfield City Hall. The US Department of Transportation has information here: USDOT Bicycle Safety A development in Davis California called Village Homes is also an excellent example to take ideas from. This planned community is set up for people more than cars. Check it out here:Village Homes, Davis, California By Genevieve Stutesman |