Newton Trails

Sigh...  Deep breath...  Long pause...

Sorry, I still haven't found a better way to control my anger when trail opponents refer to efforts to create safe places to walk and bike as "elitist."  These are some of the wealthiest men and women in Newton County, but somehow they have twisted the truth so that even some elected officials say walking and biking are frivolous pursuits of the "elite."  Never mind that $4-a-gallon gas and unemployment have made owning and driving a car out of reach for many, trail opponents believe any travel other than by automobile is a luxury they don't want to see funded.

Imagine the surprise when I tell Jimmy over on Thompson Avenue his biking along Floyd Street sidewalks with groceries bags in hand makes him part of Covington's upper crust!  The same is true, then, for my neighbor who walks several miles each way to work since her husband lost his construction job last year.

As a board member at Washington Street Community Center (WSCC), I've seen first hand the limited transportation and recreation choices available to children and adults in our most disadvantaged neighborhoods.  Over several years, our local cycling club donated more than 50 bikes and over 100 helmets to the children at WSCC.  With the help of the Covington Police Department, we taught kids safety and encouraged them to have fun.  Unfortunately, there is little safety or fun to be found biking in Washington Street traffic.  The kids have no place to bike.

I tried to make that point some time back to a Covington City Councilwoman who insisted trails were of no benefit to her constituents.  "My people would not be welcome there," she said.  Flabbergasted, I asked her where she wanted me to send the children to walk, bike, or play?  She said parents were more concerned with putting food on the table.  Even though she acknowledged that transportation grants to acquire the railroad and build a trail could not be used to feed our citizens, she said "Appearance is Reality."  She'd bought it hook, line, and sinker...  Trails are for elitists.

While the "just say NO" crowd in Newton County continues to vilify anyone trying better poor neighborhoods, there are communities where advocates, government, business leaders, and public health officials get it.  They understand place matters.  And, they use walking and biking trails to connect healthier places to healthier people.  Just watch this video of the Met Branch Trail in Washington, DC, and see if you can spot the "elitists"?

Study after study proves place matters.  Residents of poorer neighborhoods have more health issues and shorter life expectancies than those living in areas with higher socioeconomic factors.  That's the reality, appearances be damned.  And, it's time for leaders who will accept that reality and confront the appearances that keep it hidden from view.

Trails break down barriers and provide greater access to healthy habits and healthier places.  You don't have to travel to DC to see it.  Viisit the Arabia Mountain Trail in Lithonia some weekend.  Try to count the families -- red, yellow, black, and white from every economic level -- out getting healthy together.  You'll quickly lose count.

"Priorities First," say the trail opponents.  What, pray tell, could be a higher priority than the health, safety, and welfare of all our citizens!?  Yeah, I know.  That's elitist thinking again...

Sigh...  Deep breath...  Long pause...

Last week, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) published county-by-county rankings for every US state on key measurements of community health.  Newton County's low score on adult health behaviors (143rd out of 159 Georgia counties) prompted a Covington News editorial asking readers "What will it take to make Newton County healthier?

I've sent a response I hope they run as a guest editorial.  As head of a non-profit dedicated to building community green space for passive family recreation, I take note of Newton County's low score for physical environment, where we ranked 110th.  Not only do we lack ready access to as many recreation facilities as most Georgia counties, the facilities we do have are geared largely to youth sports.  We have a significant lack of parks and greenways where adults and families can walk, run, bike, skate, or otherwise get much needed physical activity in a car-centric world.

Extensive research over the past decade has shown the "built environment" in which we live has a major impact on individual and community health.  The video below from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides a great overview of the factors that make certain communities healthier than others.  And, if we are to rise to the challenge issued by the Covington News, we would do well to pay attention to such prescriptions for building healthy communities.  (Not surprisingly, trails and greenways are a prominent element in the CDC's recommendations.)

Speak out for better walking and biking facilities locally or elsewhere, and the talk inevitably leads to questions about how we can possibly afford such investments in a down economy with so much of America's highway infrastructure already woefully behind and in disrepair.  But, a once-radical idea is taking root across America.  It's a simple solution to a complex problem:  tear down those highways!

Now wait.  Before you decide to stop reading the ravings of a lunatic, folks aren't talking about eliminating the entire interstate system.  Those roads serve this nation well for moving people and freight from city to city and state to state. But, large cities across America are finding plenty of good reasons to remove highways from their downtowns.

Watch the video below from the Streetfilms Series for a closer look at how and why places like New York, New Orleans, Buffalo, San Francisco, and Vancouver are finding they are better off without downtown freeways.

Still, you may ask:  "How much could we really save by just eliminating a few sections of freeway?"  Well, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said you could build the entire 2,250-mile East Coast Greenway trail system from Key West to Maine for one-fifth the cost of one I-95 highway bridge over the Potomac River in Washington, DC.

We who advocate for a more balanced transportation system don't expect change overnight.  But, we do believe the time has come to recognize we should think twice before investing in more large-scale, astronomically costly highway projects that don't work.  In so doing, we can restore livability and commerce to our downtowns and save some money in the process.

Though the project includes a pedestrian tunnel, the recent opening of the Turner Lake Rd/Clark St roundabout in Covington is primarily a development for car traffic.  Still, as I watch the public commentary on that project, I can't help but see parallels to the public debate over trails in Newton County.  And, I can't help but feel encouraged.

For more than a year, we heard prophets of doom warn of the calamity and the carnage that was to come when motorists sought to navigate this strange and unwelcome traffic circle.  Others decried the wastefulness of the spending -- though most really had no idea what the project would cost nor what other alternatives were considered before this design was selected.

The roundabout has now been open to traffic for three weeks.  And, based on conversations I've heard and commentary in online forums and newspapers, the response is overwhelmingly positive.  The mayhem has not materialized, traffic is flowing, and most motorist feel the change has been a good one.  Even more encouraging, I see those who support the project actively speaking out and correcting misinformation or misunderstandings shared by others who still claim the project was a waste of money.  As supporters are quick to point out, the roundabout was a less costly solution than the alternative of adding a turn lane to the intersection.  And, it will be especially less costly to operate on an ongoing basis, with no traffic light now required.

Increasingly, I see similar behavior in the dialog around trails and greenways for Newton County.  Informed supporters are getting the facts and speaking out.  And, so, I can't help but feel encouraged.

After two nail-biting nights sitting through long-running city and county meetings, this morning we have cause to celebrate.  Tuesday night, the Newton County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve a staff request to commit $100,000  to match a $400,000 federal Transportation Enhancement (TE) grant request .  The grant was necessary to cover the  $460,000 shortfall in funding needed to complete all 2.6 miles.

On Monday night, the Covington City Council declined to provide additional money toward the project, but did hold firm on the $225,000 they have already committed.  That meant the county needed to come up with the $100,000 match for the additional request.  In this extremely challenging fiscal environment, it's understandable that some commissioners were reluctant to vote in favor of the grant application.  Commissioners Ewing and Fleming both sought alternative approaches to reduce the cost (ie, crushed gravel instead of concrete), but those alternatives would have meant starting the project over and losing the money already spent for construction-ready plans.

In the end, the commission voted to proceed with the matching funds coming from the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funds already budgeted with funds set aside for to-be-identified road projects throughout the year.  Legally, a multi-use trail is a legitimate use for these funds.  But, even more than that, I feel this is an important step towards recognizing that walking and biking are indeed significant transportation modes, and should be seen as such.  Commissioner Schulz made that point last night, as did Chairman Morgan.  And, in doing so, both echoed the direction set this year in a new policy statement from the Federal DOT.   In that statement (viewable here), the DOT urged local governments to give walking and biking the same priority given to other modes of transportation.

However, I don't need US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to tell me how important walking and biking are.  I only need to ask my legally blind neighbor, Anne Wheeler, who cannot drive and thus rides an adult tricycle from her home on Floyd St to the Newton County Public Library or to the Square.  Anne can't wait to have that trail built through the tunnel under the by-pass road, so she can bike to the Ingle's and buy groceries on her own without someone having to drive her.  Or, I can ask Jimmy -- the man who lives on Butler St and bikes past my home on the sidewalk several times going about his daily routine.  I don't know if Jimmy can't drive, or if he chooses not to.  But, I do know he is afraid to bike in the street with traffic.  Jimmy, too, will have a whole new world of safe access when that trail is built.

It wasn't easy, but last night, our county took a small step forward on a very large need.  And, so, this morning, I celebrate and give thanks.