Walking and biking as something you go somewhere to do, not as part of how you live

The Commuter Page blog has an entry featuring a video on biking in Copenhagen, "What it's Going to Take" Lots of people bike there. And lots of people bike in places like Portland. Many people walk in places like the core of DC or in Manhattan.

Last week I was in Georgia on business and there are beautiful biking trails and a supportive bike rental system on Saint Simons and Jekyll Islands, tourist destinations on the Atlantic Ocean. And I blogged an article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about how young mothers drive to the new urban retail-oriented Atlantic Station development to go walking.

Walking and bicycling need to be part of our everyday living--this kind of mobility should be part of our way of life. But that requires compact development, a pedestrian-centric urban design, amenities rich neighborhoods or destinations close by, and jobs and housing being roughly in balance.

I can't claim to be all that healthy otherwise, but the fact that in Washington, I bicycle most days to get around is my basic form of exercise without having to join a gym. It also gets me to many places, often faster, compared to driving.

But I do take issue with one point from the blog entry, which states:

The Washington, D.C. area is ranked #2 nationwide for traffic congestion.

While this is true, the fact is that the measure for traffic congestion only measures freeway driving. Mobility in the core of Washington DC, except for certain times of the day, is quite good, both on the streets and underground (subway). It's hard to park though... and you have to wait for subways and buses.

In any case, people need to be refamiliarized with biking and walking, and impediments need to be identified and addressed.