Parks Planning Shows Barriers and Underserved Areas

While we wait for the Draft Parks Master Plan to be posted to the City's website, it's interesting to see that for Parks, unlike for Bike and Walk Salem, roads like Liberty, Skyline, Commercial, and Kuebler are all identified as barriers. (This strikes me as something the schools might use in planning boundaries.)

Barriers like Commercial and Kuebler in Brown
Map Detail from Neighborhood Service Areas

Neighborhood areas in yellow are also identified as being farther than 1/2 mile from a neighborhood park, and therefore in a service deficit.  Neighborhood areas in red and grey are within 1/2 mile from a park or unimproved planned park area. 

It would have been interesting in Bike and Walk Salem's analysis to see the parkways and major arterials labeled as barriers rather than as connections (since they have bike lanes).   And to see the number of neighborhoods that lack a full-service bike boulevard/family-friendly bikeway.

I'm not sure this would have led to a different set of proposed projects, but it might have been useful as a way to communicate to people who don't bike just how difficult it is to get around - how few safe, comfortable, and connected facilities there are.  It might underscore the urgency and promote more aggressive implementation. 

Once the draft plan is out, there will be more to say!

Almost every street downtown is a barrier - imagine that!

Don't forget the Downtown Mobility Study workshop tonight!