The difference between streets, roads and stroads and how car-centric infrastructure is bad for our society.
By Brady Winkler
Introduction
You’re trying to walk to a store that is only a mile away. You pull up walking directions on Google Maps and begin your trip. You head out onto the highway, only to realize there are no sidewalks. It can’t be that bad, right? I can see the sign from here. Pressing yourself against the railing of the highway on a tiny patch of tall grass, your legs begin to ache all over. The air is filled with the smelly gas and pavement and the whoooooooooosh of passing cars. This doesn’t seem like an easy or safe walk after all. Finally, you arrive across from the store and realize you have to cross six lanes of oncoming traffic. Somehow, this is normal for most of the United States and Canada. Do you want to live your life like this? And what exactly is the problem with car-centric urban planning?
Stroads?
Before we talk about the consequences of car-dependant infrastructure, we need to understand how a badly designed city looks. A street is where businesses and houses are. It’s where life happens. Buildings are built right next to the sidewalk and are easily accessible. This is where you and I want to be. It’s where every-day life happens. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to come upon a well-designed street in the United States and Canada.
An example of a street in Amsterdam. This is a place where businesses and residential areas are easily accessible by foot and bike. Buildings are close to the sidewalk and right next to each other. It’s a destination, not a way to move cars.
A road is where cars and buses can move at a much higher speed than on a street. This means there are not many entrances and exits to the road that you need to worry about. For pedestrians and cyclists, there are usually decent ways to cross the road and ride alongside it. Both streets and roads are great, until you combine the two and get a stroad. This is a road, except with businesses and other things you might find on a street that have massive parking lots and many entrances and exits. It is very hard to walk or bike alongside a stroad, and even harder to cross it. Picture walking along Route 9 craving a big, juicy steak from Ken’s Steak House, only to realize it is nearly impossible to cross the stroad. Even though you can’t live your life without driving on a stroad in North America, is this really what we should be ok with?
This is Route 9 is Framingham, which is a stroad. There are many entrances and exits, hardly any sidewalks, no bike paths, a very dangerous environment to cross, and many lanes.
Why The Sea of Asphalt is Dreaded
It’s the middle of July and you are bored. You really want to go somewhere, but your parents are too busy to drive you. You can walk to your friend’s house, but you want to do something different. It shouldn’t have to be this way. If only our town was built for pedestrians and bikers, not just cars. Wouldn’t it be great if you could easily bike to the mall? It’s just too dangerous to do so because of how many cars are on the road. The problem is that since there’s no better alternative to driving, more people drive, which ultimately makes the situation worse. It’s a vicious cycle. It can be even more difficult for adults that do not have money to buy a car since they also have to go to the store to get the food they need.
Get a Workout In
Even people with a car could benefit from better urban planning. Jason Slaughter is a Canadian YouTuber that moved to the Netherlands when he realized how much harm North American infrastructure causes us. According to him in his video on ‘The Gym of Life’ “People need approximately 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. And that can be achieved by cycling or a brisk walk. But since this activity is required anyway, to maintain a base level of health, there’s an argument to be made that the first 30 minutes of, say, your cycling commute are ‘free’. It’s time you’d have to spend exercising anyway, and by doing it during your commute, you’re multitasking.” That means that by commuting by bike or foot, you’re improving your health. What if you could greatly improve your health simply by walking or biking to school every day? If you take a car, it’s just time that you could be spending getting physical activity. According to a study at Stanford, people who live in more walkable cities get more exercise daily. Ultimately, walkable places save the government and people money, positively benefit our environment and greatly improve our mental and physical health.
The Walkable Retirement
Fortunately, being able to walk or bike places isn’t just a fantasy. The Villages in Florida is a retirement community of around 145,000 seniors 55+. It’s a perfect example of how with an open canvas, developers can make fields and wetlands into a great walkable-bikeable community. Both of my paternal grandparents live here in the winter and love The Villages not only because of the warm climate, but because of how well thought out and planned the community is. My grandmother says, “It is quiet in our neighborhood, but we can walk, bike, or take the golf cart to the nightly entertainment, recreation centers, restaurants, and pools. We take our golf cart to church, the doctor, bank, and grocery store.” All of the streets have multi-use paths for cyclists, walkers and people riding golf-carts, which is why many people live car-free in The Villages. They have more than 50 golf courses and hundreds of recreation centers with swimming pools, tennis courts, and pickle-ball all within walking or biking distance. Recreational centers that are within a reasonable distance encourage physical activity, which is especially great for seniors as they benefit from more exercise. The new bridges allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Florida Turnpike on a bike, golf cart or on foot. There’s still more to come for The Villages. New neighborhoods will soon allow more people below the age restrictions to enjoy this awesome walkable and bikeable community. The Villagers never stop!
Conclusion
In conclusion, we need to pave the way for pedestrians and cyclists, not just drivers. With better urban planning, this can be a reality. But we have a long stroad ahead!