Walk or Bike in the Hills or in East Salem? The Map Needs You!

Salem's Walk + Bike update project posted an online collaborative map a couple of weeks ago.

As of today, it's been viewed about 1200 times. Already the comments and push-pins cluster in interesting ways.

Perhaps the most interesting thing is that comments cluster in downtown and the close-in residential neighborhoods - that is, on the streetcar era grid of the late 19th and early 20th century. Except for downtown proper, this is also the easiest place to walk and bike: There are sidewalks and the grid makes for plenty of low-traffic alternatives.

Out in the mid-century neighborhoods, where the tree-like street heirarchy dominates, with a structure of arterial trunks, large collector branches, and small branch and twig local streets, and where sidewalks are fewer and bike lanes on busy streets prevail, there are hardly any comments.

Even more interesting, the special focus of the project is to develop good walking and bicycling routes to schools, and in East, West, and South Salem, there are hardly any push-pins around neighborhood schools.

Needless to say, if you live, walk, or bike in these outer neighborhoods - the map needs your thoughts! In important ways it is as much or more an update for good walking than for good bicycling. So even if you don't bike, don't have any interest in biking - the project still needs your comments!

So make sure you take the survey and comment on the map! (Additional map instructions here.)