WHEN DRIVING IS NOT AN OPTION

STEERING AWAY FROM CAR DEPENDENCY

Straightforward Planning Tools to Serve Nondrivers

Make nondrivers visible. 

Place nondrivers on mobility advisory boards, make sure surveys include them, hire nondrivers for transit and transportation planning positions.

Reduce traffic speeds. 

Planners know it's not just lowering speed limits. 

Road diets, bulb outs, traffic circles, and raised sidewalks can slow traffic and make it pedestrian-friendly.

Allow for longer crossing times at crosswalks. 

Know that 30 seconds to cross is not enough time for a person using an assistive mobility device or younger or older citizens.

Take public ownership of sidewalk repair and maintenance. 

If a nondriver must walk six blocks to a transit stop, clear it of barriers and make it accessible to all. 

Treat sidewalks as any other infrastructure — plan, fund, and maintain them.

Make transit at least as reliable as driving. 

Approach transit as an equal part of the mobility ecosystem, making it safer and more connective for citizens.

 

WHEN DRIVING IS NOT AN OPTION

STEERING AWAY FROM CAR DEPENDENCY

In Anna Zivarts' 176-page book, When Driving is Not an Option, she points out that many states have concurrency requirements that require developers to build more car capacity.

But she thinks multimodal capacity, with an emphasis on transit and pedestrian mobility, would be a better, more inclusive approach.

Strong pedestrian and transit networks can support denser, transit oriented development that can include housing that is attainable, she writes.

"Make no mistake, I want an outcome of slower traffic. I want it to become less desirable, less convenient to drive places," Zivarts says.

When that happens, she adds, two good things will occur: a critical mass will demand great transit and pedestrian mobility and there will be enough users to create demand for that premium transit.

WHEN DRIVING IS NOT AN OPTION

STEERING AWAY FROM CAR DEPENDENCY

Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving is Not an Option, challenged planners and elected officials to do just that during the Week Without Driving challenge in the greater Seattle area.

Many never had to depend on public transportation for every work, recreational, medical, shopping, or social trip. This showed them firsthand the gaps in the system.

Her work — and words — have clearly made an impact. Roger Millar, FAICP, the secretary of transportation for the Washington Department of Transportation, invited Zivarts to speak at the 2021 annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

He told Zivarts that his counterparts in other states were texting him during her presentation, checking in with staff and asking them to investigate the number of nondrivers in their states.