The Non-Motorized Travel Advisory Council’s Role
September 14, 2008
Our committee’s mission is:
To enhance and expand the walkability and bikability of Helena through the development of a safe, convenient and accessible network of corridors that serves to improve connectivity, promote alternatives to motorized travel, and enhance Helena’s appeal as a healthy, pedestrian and cyclist-friendly place to live and play.
While we are primarily focused on strategies and projects to benefit bicyclists and pedestrians, a bike- and pedestrian-friendly Helena can also be car-friendly. We are working with various City departments to build ‘complete streets’, that is, streets and paths that make it convenient to get where you are going – regardless of whether you are driving, cycling, or walking.
A bike- and pedestrian-friendly Helena will be a healthier, less expensive, and more enjoyable place to live. The key is making cycling and walking a more convenient and safe means of getting around.
When, for instance, it becomes more convenient for more Helenans to ride a bike or walk to work, school, or the grocery store; we’ll end up getting more exercise, and saving money on gas and auto repair.
More cyclists and walkers (and fewer cars) mean less congested streets, smaller parking lots, and fewer greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. Walking or biking around town is friendlier too; slowed down a little bit, we have more of an opportunity to chat with neighbors and others out of their car’s cocoon, under our beautiful Montana sky.
To quote and lightly paraphrase Oregon’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, 1995, page 3:
Walking is the most basic form of transportation. Everyone is a pedestrian, including persons using wheelchairs and other forms of mobility assistance. Transit or automobile trips begin and end with a walk. Walking is often the quickest way to accomplish short trips in urban areas.Bicycling is the most energy efficient form of transportation ever devised, getting the energy equivalent of up to 1,500 miles per gallon (according to an MIT study). People who walk or ride bicycles are the most vulnerable road users, being less protected from the weather and more likely to be injured in a collision with a motor vehicle; they must often use facilities that were designed primarily for automobiles.
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/planproc.shtml
Working with other City and County departments, neighborhoods, and civic groups, we hope to make Helena a friendlier place to ride bicycles and to walk.
