May

 

I was biking back to the office from a meeting yesterday and found myself at two very different kinds of intersections. The first was your typical road intersection - Clinton and Pomeroy - and a busy one at that. 

 

There are multiple lanes at the light, and I had positioned myself in the middle one, as I was not turning, thereby leaving the right lane open to allow others to turn.

 

A woman in a car pulled up behind me and called to me. “You should be on the sidewalk,” she said. “You’re going to get hurt.” I shook my head no. “It’s illegal to ride on the sidewalk. This is where I should be.” When the light turned green, she called out one more time that I should be on the sidewalk. 

 

This brings me to the second intersection - the intersection of people understanding differently how cyclists and drivers should be interacting on the road. You see, neither the woman in the car nor I were wrong. It is dangerous being a cyclist in the road. I would probably be safer on the sidewalk. However, it is illegal for adults to bike on the sidewalk, largely because that makes it dangerous to be a walker on the sidewalk. 

 

So we find ourselves in the uncomfortable situation of bicyclists not really feeling like they belong anywhere in a city devoid of bike lanes.

 

And the best way to handle that for now, is for cyclists to bike on the street - to take the lane if they must, and to ride following the same laws that apply to cars. Signaling. Stopping at stop signs. Using headlights and taillights at night. And keeping our focus on the road. 

 

Similarly, drivers are bound by their driver’s licenses to check blind spots. Give cyclists room when passing. Slow down when passing. Yes, this last one is very different from the way you would pass a car - you must SLOW DOWN when passing a cyclist. This is because the air pressure between the vehicle and the bike can throw a cyclist off balance.

 

At this juncture, the best way for cyclists to not get hurt is if people get used to driving around bikes, and cyclists get used to driving around cars. That means we need more cyclists not only out biking, but out biking on the road. 

 

The same goes for walkers - the more people out on the sidewalks, the more drivers will remember to be on the lookout for pedestrians.

 

If this beautiful weather alone isn’t enough to spark up your biking and walking habits, Seven Valleys Health Coalition is hosting Bike/Walk to Work Week from May 9th through 15th. Participants will have a chance to win a GoPro camera and other prizes as they actively commute to work. Biking or walking even part of the way to work counts, and with more than 50 people signed up so far, you won’t be alone. Learn more atwww.way2gocortland.org. 

 

Sharing the road is a challenge that we engage in with different mindsets. But a community that is rich with diverse modes of transportation is rich with diverse people. And that multiplicity is what makes a community vibrant, adaptable, and beautiful.

 

 

 

April

 

After a winter like ours, the mid-30s feel positively balmy. I biked to work this morning and it was purely invigorating - I arrived to work with a rosy glow, my heart pumping at full speed, and my mind whirring at a smoothly productive pace. And I dove into my duties with a smile, putting those endorphins to good use.

 

Spring is decisively in the air. And it’s time to get outside and get moving. This May, Seven Valleys Health Coalition is hosting Bike/Walk to Work Week, a perfect excuse to do both. 

 

A collaboration between Way2Go Cortland, HealthyNOW! Cortland County, and the Cortland County Health Department, this year’s Bike/Walk to Work Week, running from May 9th through May 15th, includes a Workplace Challenge. The Challenge will encourage co-workers to band together and commit to bike or walk at least part of the way to work for the week, and the top workplaces in three size divisions will be presented with awards (and bragging rights) after all participation has been tallied.

 

For individuals, participants who bike or walk at least 4 times to or from work throughout the week will be entered for a drawing to win a GoPro Camera and other prizes. 

 

And even for those who don’t win a prize, everyone is a winner this May.

 

By walking or biking even part of the way to work, individuals:

 

• Save money on gas

 

• Get a valuable opportunity for exercise

 

• Reduce stress

 

• Feel refreshed

 

• Avoid parking hassles

 

• Participate in a fun, social, environmentally-friendly community event

 

And there are plenty of reasons for employers to promote the Challenge. Employers benefit in myriad ways:

 

• Save money on healthcare costs

 

• Increase productivity

 

• Promote a healthier workforce

 

• Support a cleaner environment

 

• Reduce parking issues

 

In fact, there are a variety of ways for employers to show their support for the challenge, and we plan to feature participating employers by promoting them on the Way2Go Facebook page. Ways to get involved include:

 

• Promote Bike/Walk to Work Week within the company or organization. Go to www.way2gocortland.org to download flyers and tips. Use internal communication to let your employees know about the challenge and that you support it. Do you have bike racks or showers and/or lockers for your employees? Let them know what you have - or consider increasing options at your workplace. 

 

• Encourage your employees to register for the challenge. The more participation at your workplace, the more likely it is that you will win an award in one of three employer size divisions. 

 

• Provide additional incentives for those employees who participate in the challenge. Breakfast, free coffee, and gift cards are some ideas. 

 

What can individuals and workplaces do right now to stay in the loop? Registration is open atwww.way2gocortland.org - and be sure to follow the instructions and bookmark the URL so you can return to log your entries during the Challenge. And meanwhile, tune up your bike, shine those walking shoes, and get those muscles stretched so they’re ready to power your commute.

 

Biking or walking to work is the kind of challenge that can transform any commute into an exhilarating and refreshing one. If, like me, you can’t wait until May, I’ll see you on the sidewalk or wave to you from my bicycle. 

 

 

February

 

In June, a father in Tennessee was arrested when picking up his children from school. The school wouldn’t release his children to him because he and his wife had walked, instead of waiting in a line of idling cars.

 

There’s a school policy about this – after school is dismissed, children are typically released to parents in cars, or can later be released to walk home by themselves. He wanted his children released to him at the same time as they would be if he were in a car. The school said no. He spoke up and quoted a Tennessee law stating that it’s illegal for schools to hold children from their parents past dismissal time, and was promptly arrested.

 

What does it mean if a Tennessee school is releasing children to parents in cars, but not to parents on foot? Do we trust cars more than the humans who drive them?

 

For me, safety is a matter of trust. We all need to be reminded that we don't have complete control over our lives, so we must learn to trust each other. And as we grow to trust each other, it's important to educate ourselves. So I have three thoughts on walking safety I'd like to share:

 

1. It’s not unsafe to walk. It’s unsafe to not walk.

Having more walkers and cyclists makes a community safer for walkers and cyclists. Safety in numbers is a proven characteristic of non-car traffic. In Finland, from 1989 to 2004, the number of bicycle trips increased by 72% and there was a 75% drop in cycling accidents, according to the Nordic Council of Ministers. Similarly, studies in California using state Highway Patrol data have shown that as journeys to work shift to the modes of walking and biking, injuries per capita decrease. Whether it’s due to changes in infrastructure or mindset, the safety-in-numbers strategy works. So join us walkers and bikers and make it safer to walk and bike. By walking and biking.

 

2. Honking your horn at a pedestrian is a safety hazard more often than a help.

As cars become better insulated from exterior noises (think of the soft hush of a luxury sedan), their horns have to grow accordingly louder. But pedestrians have no soundproof doors shielding them from horns. So even if you're honking because you're my friend and want to say hi, I'll probably jump two feet in the air and endure a spike in heart rate, and won't recover in time to smile and wave. Horns are jarring and aggressive – please use them only in situations of need.

 

3. My life is in your hands.

Someone recently said to me, upon learning I walk where many people drive, “Well, you’re certainly taking your life into your own hands.”

 

But that’s not true. There’s little I could reasonably do, while walking, that could seriously harm me. It’s rather that when I walk, drivers take my life into their own hands. And as much as I can walk defensively, I really don’t stand a chance against anything moving at 30 mph. So I have learned to trust.

 

I trust you, Cortland. Please be careful.

 

 

January

 

There’s no such thing as National Carpool Appreciation Day. Officially, that is. But I’d like to proclaim my genuine gratitude for all those who share the warmth of their cars and conversations with walkers like me.

 

So far this January, the average low (and often the approximate temperature at 7:30 in the morning) has been 10 degrees. Even a calm low wind of 5 mph can strip that temperature down to a ‘feels like’ temperature of 1.

 

And I’ll admit, even as much as I enjoy walking, it becomes increasingly difficult to muster enthusiasm for a morning commute by foot as the temperature becomes decreasingly comfortable.

 

One of my favorite people to follow online is Eric Larsen, polar explorer. In 2010, he became the first person to have reached the South and North poles and summited Everest within a year. When asked how he keeps warm in -50 degree temperatures, he says, “Attitude is everything.”

 

“If you think you’re going to be cold and miserable you are likely going to be cold and miserable. Realize through proper dress, behavior and mindfulness you can be warm no matter the temperature. People say they hate the cold. I think what they mean is they hate being cold. I agree, being cold sucks. It’s painful. I like being warm in very cold environments; you can do it, too.”

 

And he’s absolutely right. Look outside. It’s a wonderland out there, with soft white snow and enchanting steam wisps seeping from the building tops. The trees are vulnerable and bare, revealing their textured, storied bark. If we weren’t afraid of being painfully cold, we would explore winter more fully. And sometimes exploration is as simple as walking to work.

 

Some of us are lucky to have generous co-workers who volunteer their extra seats - I’ll take this opportunity to directly thank the lovely people at Seven Valleys Health Coalition, all of whom have graciously shared their seats and conversations with me. And I’ll also challenge myself to build up my grit and my wonder for winter walking simply by doing more of it.

 

According to a Consumer Solutions study, only 10% of people in the U.S. carpool. Instead, we drive alone, in our cars, the vast majority of which are built to seat 5 people. So I’ll also challenge you to carpool more. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, share the commute to work with a friend - but go carless. Walk or bike together to work - there is safety and friendship in numbers.

 

Thank you to all the carpoolers out there. Thank you for keeping 85 million gallons’ worth of fuel exhaust out of our air each year. Thank you for reducing traffic by 20%. Thank you for saving us $1.1 billion dollars a year. And thank you for keeping me warm when I think I’m going to be cold and miserable.

In exceedingly cool winters like the ones we have, it’s exceedingly cool when people are so willing to give the gift of a ride. So stay cool, Cortland.

 

 

December

 

Pop quiz. What year was the old Congregational Church on Elm Street built? What types of snowflakes are clinging to the rhododendrons? How many ducks are frolicking in Otter Creek on a given Tuesday evening?

 

These are not questions you can successfully google. Their answers can’t be found in your encyclopedia or on Wikipedia. These are curiosities that must be solved by stepping outside.

 

One of the best parts about walking is the world of experience at your fingertips (and toetips). I’m a huge fan of being able to find out the difference in elevation between Cortland and Geneva in the click of a button, or learn about how the famous Cortland apple was cultivated with a few keystrokes. But as wide as the world feels in this digital age, it can still feel wider when you dive into it outside.

 

Over Thanksgiving, I helped some friends rake a yard. I grew up in Phoenix, AZ, so I’ve raked some mesquite leaves in my day, but nothing on this scale. I had never before fallen backwards into a leaf pile, trusting it to catch me, the air filled with the vivid scent of loam. A week later, as I walk to work all bundled up, I am still plucking dried leaves from my hat and scarf, little reminders that life shouldn’t play out behind a screen or behind a wheel.

 

Books, the internet, the radio – they all have a great deal of information. People spend oodles of time consuming that information and converting it to knowledge. And we all have a different combination of the ways in which we learn, but on average, each student’s learning style is split three ways:

 

• 37% Haptic – moving, touching, doing

• 34% Auditory – sound, music

• 29% Visual – photos, illustrations, images

 

This data is from Specific Diagnostic Studies of Rockville, Maryland, and I think it shows that we humans have an incredible array of skills for understanding what’s around us. By using all our senses, we engage with each other and with nature. We discover things that we might never have discovered from behind a car door.

 

I have relatively new walking shoes. They’re minimalist – almost as simple as socks. I can feel pebbles and the chill of winter under my toes. And these sneakers also make me incredibly light on my feet, so I can skip up a curb, or jump up the stairs, or do a leprechaun kick. I can learn about the world by touching it with my feet. And because I’m breathing in the frosty air, listening to the patterns of rain as it plashes on the asphalt, and watching the golden sun peel itself from the eastern hills in the morning, I know about the world. And I love what I find.

 

So take yourself on a scavenger hunt. Tell a story with your evening walk. Find out something about this community by stepping outside, and don’t give up just because you feel something you’re not used to feeling. Embrace it.  

 

 

November

 

If you’ve been on Facebook this week, you might have seen the story about James Robertson, the man who walks 21 miles a day for his commute to work.

 

Last week, you might have heard about how New York City is raising its subway fares, and we here in Cortland County are looking at a potential increase in bus fares as well.

 

And three weeks ago, you might have seen photos of Eclipse, a black lab, taking the bus to the park. By herself.

 

All of these stories remind us that, as many of us scrape our windshields and switch on our seat warmers, there are many people (and pets) who rely on things like sidewalks, buses, and the network of public transportation as common good.

 

Public transportation is for everybody. And it’s not just buses – it includes sidewalks, and bike lanes, and pedestrian signals at intersections. It includes roads – the whole spectrum – from the gravelly country paths that kick up dust in the summer, to the wide highways built up to the horizon that carry cars over rivers.

 

Wanting to do good, a GoFundMe campaign was set up to raise money to buy James Robertson a car. That’s an incredibly nice thing to do – and I’m sure it makes James Robertson (and the rest of us) feel really good about the way we can collectively solve issues in the connected world.

 

But as journalist Ben Adler pointed out, buying James Robertson a car is a very expensive solution to a much larger problem. Because James Robertson isn’t the only James Robertson.

 

There are millions of James Robertsons across the nation - people who cannot afford to live near work, people who cannot afford a car. There are teens who are too young to drive, but whose parents don’t have time to chauffer them to after-school jobs or volunteer work. And there’s even the occasional dog going to the park (and we know we’re not ready to see any labrador retrievers behind the wheel quite yet).

 

Is there a solution to the James Robertson problem that would be in everyone’s interest? Of course there is - investing in public transportation.

 

Neither Cortland County nor the City of Cortland currently contributes funding to our public transit system. Our roads get redone after the snow lets up in springtime, but our buses are still depending on a matrix of support from the state and federal governments, in addition to the fare box. And, across the nation, the public is riding transit more than ever.

 

Have you been on the Route 4 bus on a weekday afternoon? It’s packed. We need the buses to get people to the grocery store.

 

Have you been on the Route 6 bus on the morning run to TC3? It’s packed. We need the buses to get people to school.

 

Have you been on the Route 7 commuter bus to Ithaca? It’s packed. We need the buses to get people to work.

 

We need public transportation as an economical and smart solution to the issues we know people face every day in our communities. Remember – James Robertson didn’t walk to work until his car stopped running. Once we face issues in our own lives, we realize how quickly the common good becomes just…good.

 

 

October

 

Photography opens our eyes to things on all scales – from insects feasting on nectar to the spider-like splay of solar systems in a galaxy.

 

Sometimes I’ll bring my camera along on my evening walks to the community garden, hoping to capture a wispy sunset like Monday’s, or the curl of a broccoli leaf as it catches a shadow.

 

I’ll sling my camera across my back and make it my accomplice on a longer walk up into the hills, on the scent of adventure in this pastoral wonderland.

 

I might even bring it to work on a morning like today’s, when any leaf might be a masterpiece of autumn.

 

And when I think about how I spend my time, how I spend my 20-minute commute, I feel good. I feel empowered, independent, and part of a community. I would be absolutely happy if everyone spent their commute the same way I do, smiling at passers-by, picking up the occasional bit of garbage or paint-swirled maple leaf. So I have to ask - would you be happy if everyone spent their commute the same way you do?

 

According to a national study conducted by Nielsen (of the TV ratings variety), people in the U.S. spend, on average, 14% of their waking hours in the car. That’s about a 1 to 7 ratio. Imagine being told you have seven days to live and saying, well, I’m going to spend one of those precious days navigating a pothole-studded grid of asphalt.

 

No thank you. I would much rather spend that day breathing in fresh air and stretching my legs. Walking past the river and noting that the eddies are swirling lazily, the sun sinking low in its hammock of clouds. Or feeling the wind of my own creation as I peddle my bike to collect yet another promising CSA share.

 

I think many of our Car-Free Challengers felt the same way these past two weeks. Here are a few of my favorite comments:

 

“Today is the first time in 35 years living on Groton Ave. that I did not drive my car to Tops Market to pick up a few needed grocery items!”

 

“I usually pick up the kids from school in the car but I walked instead. They actually liked it better.”

“I rode my bike to work. Wore ear warmers in the morning and was comfortable as a bug in a rug on the way home.”

 

I can write this column every month and try to share that my experience with a Car-Free lifestyle can be easy and incredibly enjoyable. But I know that for our Car-Free Challengers, the message didn’t ring true until they found out for themselves.

 

The fun doesn’t have to stop here. Very soon, we’ll be announcing Car-Free Fridays, a continuation of the Car-Free Challenge. We’ll challenge Cortland residents to shift their solo car trips to walking, biking, public transit, and even carpooling. It’ll be an opportunity for people to make that 1 day out of 7 an experience they’d be proud to photograph.

 

 

September

 

In July, my dad visited for two weeks from Phoenix, AZ. He had driven with his parents across the country to Watkins Glen for their 60th High School Reunion, and while Grandma and Grandpa were partying with their fellow octogenarians, Dad enjoyed his time as a walking tourist in Cortland.

 

After four days enclosed in a car with his parents making occasional comments about his unruly hair, he walked down to Mr. Alex’s barbershop and got it buzzed. He also walked with me to work, to get my CSA share, to the community garden, and out to Walmart. I didn’t get a chance to warn him that Walmart is 8 miles round trip, so he had shin splints the next day.

 

It was very difficult for me to understand this, actually. He’s very fit – why should he have shin splints? But Dad reminded me that I do this all the time. Our walking muscles are muscles like any others that have to be built and exercised, that have to go eight miles every once in a while if we expect them to go eight miles smoothly.

 

Just like a car engine, you can’t be puttering your legs around town, going half a mile here and a quarter mile there and suddenly do a cross-country road trip. But if you can start out small, maybe a bite-sized taste of the car-free lifestyle might have you hooked.

 

From September 12th through the 25th, our organization (Seven Valleys Health Coalition) is hosting a Car-Free Challenge. We’re asking that people explore how they can replace trips they would ordinarily take alone in their cars with trips via walking, biking, taking transit, or carpooling. People will log their successes and challenges on our website at www.carfreechallenge.wordpress.com and every daily log will enter them for a chance to win an iPad. It’s going to be a lot of fun – we already have 93 people signed up and raring to go. Raring to go car-free.

 

While he was here, Dad and I indulged in a couple of drafts at Cortland Beer Company. I had been working earlier that day on the Car-Free Challenge t-shirt design, and my dad, as my graphic design mentor, gave me some feedback. He pointed out that with a neutral shirt color, you can print both white and black and everything will still be highly visible. And I think the same can be said of taking the Car-Free Challenge. Aim for something that’s a little more difficult than you think you can do, a medium-sized challenge, and you’ll be able to see the full spectrum of rewards and complexities.

 

The Car-Free Challenge t-shirt is evocative of that ape-to-man evolution illustration that we’re all familiar with. Our shirts show these increasingly large cars and trucks maturing into three people walking, and above is written Take the Next Step. The neat thing about this is that there’s no ice-cold bucket of water we have to pour over our heads. We’ve all taken millions of steps in our lives already. Let’s just focus on the next one.

 

 

August

 

Two weeks ago I found myself sweating and sunburnt, walking along Little York Crossing Road in Homer. The overwhelming sweetness of the scent of manure was making me dizzy, so when I saw that brick-red picnic table next to the Little York dam, I decided it was a perfect moment for a sandwich.

It was 12:30 in the afternoon, and I was two and a half hours into my walk to Dwyer Park, having set out that morning from Cortland. Why was I eight miles away from home on foot? ‘Cause I wanted to see Cortland Rep’s production of Les Miserables. Why was I eight miles away from home on foot? Same answer.

 

Hi – I’m Emma, and I’m writing a monthly column, Car Free in Cortland, about walking. For many of us, walking is a leisure activity, or exercise. For me, walking is my primary mode of transportation. I’m not alone, either. The most recent Census data shows that 1,785 households in Cortland County have no access to a vehicle. I bet that population gets confounded with having high needs and a low income. But someday, I’d like to see a Cortland that aspires to be a no-car population, regardless of income.

 

Here’s my situation. I’m in my twenties, with no kids, and live a little over a mile from my office. I’m relatively fit (though I could argue that’s because I walk). I don’t have a car or car insurance payment. I don’t spend money on gas, and I don’t spend any time complaining about gas prices. My version of a flat tire is a blister, which can be treated rather brilliantly with a band-aid. My version of a mechanic is a doctor, and the more miles I go, the less likely I’ll need to visit her, because my mileage contributes directly to my health.

 

We all know that walking is greener than driving. It’s cheaper than driving, and better for our health. I’m not going to tarry much on those topics, because we’re already armed with that knowledge, and for some reason, it’s simply not enough to create transformative change.

 

Many of us think of cars as symbols of our success, and for a lot of sixteen-year-olds, symbols of independence. However, I’d like to challenge the notion that owning a personal vehicle is the epitome of independence. I’d like to suggest that not owning one is a mark of greater autonomy. And I’d like to further suggest that it can be easy, and much more fun than sitting around in traffic fuming at the varied skill levels of other drivers.

 

After I finished my sandwich, I hopped up from the picnic table with renewed pep, and arrived at Dwyer Park fully ready to sit for a while and enjoy the actors’ terrific performances in Les Miserables. Side note – I did have another 1.5 sandwiches in Dwyer Park before the show, and then finished off that last half before my 9-mile stroll home.

 

It was a lovely evening for a walk. The countryside was sprinkled with penstemon and fields of corn, and as the road curved gently into Homer, I admired the elegant architecture against a softening sky. I passed several people out for their Sunday strolls, and we shared greetings. This is my favorite part about my mode of transportation. Smiles with strangers are incredibly enriching – not only on a personal level, but also in that they build community trust and identity.

 

Walking fuels my soul. And in return, with a little help from my community, I fuel my walking - by scenery, by smile, and by sandwich.