<< Back 8/21/02 Burden: Land-use decisions force automobile use By Scott McLeod The Waffle House parking lot provided sanctuary, but only temporarily. The pedestrian group was going to cross Russ Avenue at 10 a.m. on a weekday. It just didn’t know when was the best time to sprint through the automobiles and trucks whizzing past. “This intersection is no better or no worse than thousands across the country. There is no sidewalk, no pedestrian signals, and you don’t know when you are supposed to go,” said Dan Burden. Eventually, Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed advised the group when to go, and a police car parked in the middle of the street provided a little protection. The road crossing and subsequent inventory of the “walkability” of Russ Avenue was part of a two-day process to gather information for the town’s land development plan. Burden is a nationally known expert on building communities for multiple modes of transportation, and he had been asked to help the town gather information for its Russ Avenue district. One of Burden’s favorite ways to calm traffic and make roads safer is to create what he describes as a “boulevard,” roads with raised medians and turning pockets to go across oncoming traffic. Direct access across oncoming traffic to every business is not possible with boulevards, but Burden says these roads make business more accessible for pedestrians and bikers. He also says studies prove they are safer. Hollingsed said this section of Russ Avenue is among the most dangerous in Waynesville, averaging around 250 accidents a year. Burden also said new evidence from research conducted in Georgia is showing that businesses are only marginally affected. As he walked up and down Russ Avenue, Burden said the curb cuts at every business, lack of traffic calming devices and the absence of pedestrian amenities guarantee that people will get in their cars. “This fractured land package means that almost everyone is going to end up driving to a store even if it’s only 1,500 feet away,” said Burden. Later, during a presentation at the Waynesville Recreation Center, Burden said communities that put the needs of people before the needs of automobiles demonstrate their values. “Lots of communities say they value children and families, but you couldn’t tell by how and what they build,” said Burden, pointing out that the new Waynesville Recreation Center did not have sidewalks to it and that it seemed inaccessible to children except by vehicle. He pointed out that as communities have designed themselves for the automobile, obesity rates for children have doubled. Towns without any population growth have seen their traffic count grow by 25 percent, he said. “It’s because of land use. People are being forced into their cars,” said Burden.