by Kirby Lindsay, posted 11 April 2014
Walkers of Fremont unite! Feet First can support and share your love of exploring and commuting around our community by foot.
A non-walker? Well, Feet First can still help make you feel safer and more like you’ve been invited to step out.
‘A More Rich Connection’
“We are about getting more people to walk,” Lisa Quinn, Executive Director of Feet First, explained, “and ensuring there are more walkable communities.” The non-profit tends to focus its limited resources towards two niche categories: children – particularly elementary school students – and seniors.
“There are things you can do,” Quinn acknowledged, “to create safer situations.” The organization has used grant money to encourage seniors to walk their errands, and the ‘Walking School Bus’ program has proven very popular at the few schools they been able, so far, to introduce it.
“For so long, the yellow school bus was the only transportation,” Quinn observed about getting children to school. “The children are losing their sense of connectivity to their community,” Quinn observed, “70% of trips kids take are in the car.”
It’s not just kids though, Quinn acknowledged. “We’re losing that sense of place,” she said. “You see things differently,” as you walk an area, she observed, “Walking provides a more rich connection. People’s perception of slowing down is as a negative thing,” she said, “but for us it’s a positive.”
Certainly, I know personally the power in walking Fremont. On walks, I meet people. I spot previously missed details. And, I’ve encountered stores/parks/photo opportunities I’d have missed at 30 mph. For our youth, regular walks ‘round the ‘hood keep them connected to the neighbors, and prepared should an emergency require turning to these same folks.
‘The Five Es’
“Actually, everyone walks,” Quinn observed. It’s true but, “we work in perceptions,” she acknowledged. From walking to and fro from the car, to losing the car, takes a perceptional change.
Through walking audits, and the National ‘Safe Routes To School’ program, Feet First works to change perceptions – and actual routes. When looking to change a well-worn path, and getting more walking, Quinn said they look through the lens of the 5 Es:
- Engineering – Solve access/safety impediments by reconfiguring or installing routes and roadways
- Education – Feet First has its walking audits, a pedestrian safety curriculum and other materials that can educate potential walkers
- Encouragement – Feet First, and schools, organize campaigns that make walking fun, including prizes, rewards or other incentives. They’ve even had contests among students that walk, with the team that collected the most trash on the way to school winning prizes.
- Enforcement – Speed cameras, and increasing penalties for speeding in school zones, have helped make walking safer for students.
- Evaluation – this can be the most important piece, particularly if it identifies a new solution that can be applied to another situation
“Sometimes people talk about the lens of ‘Equity,’” Quinn added. Feet First works state-wide, but also across Seattle, and a lack of equity is apparent. Fremont has more sidewalks, bike trails, mass transit and, soon, greenways, than most of the state – and communities in North and South Seattle.
‘Create More Places To Walk’
A 501(c)3 organization, Feet First operates independently from, but closely with, several school districts and departments of transportation around the state. Based out of Pioneer Square, Executive Director Quinn has been consulted and advocated in communities around the state – and, recently, in Fremont.
A large part of any pedestrian problem, Quinn said, “is figuring out what is going on.” Feet First can, “bring people together to talk,” Quinn explained. Parents, seniors, school staff, politicians and bureaucrats walk an area together, and see for themselves what needs to be addressed.
The walks have yielded surprises even to people who consider themselves experts on their areas – because they don’t walk. For instance, while developing a walking map for White Center, volunteers counted 21 different parks in that area. Feet First has also developed walking maps for South Park and West Seattle, showing paths and timing for walking specific distances from certain points.
This fit right in with another Feet First program – the Neighborhood Walking Ambassador. Through MeetUp, Neighborhood Walking Ambassadors set up themed walks that gather together neighbors who want to walk, and explore, their area. Feet First has trained 40 Ambassadors in how to walk with large groups, talk about the area, share the Feet First story, and use tips and tricks for making it interesting.
Ultimately, Feet First wants to encourage everyone to consider walking – whether a regular walker or not. “Feet First is part of trying to create more places to walk,” Quinn stated, “so more people will walk.”
Visit the Feet First website and see if there is a program that will help you, or those you know, feel invited to walk!
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©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.