The Arlington County government has just unveiled an updated map showing roadway conditions for bicyclists.
Should a similar effort be undertaken to gauge the quality of sidewalks across the county?
It’s an idea that won support during a recent joint meeting of the government’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC) and Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC).
Local leaders “need to think of a way to show the quality of sidewalks — whether that’s width, whether that’s obstructions, whether it’s other things,” said Mike Hanna, a member of the BAC.
“As a biker, I often have problems because of the [pedestrian] spillover from sidewalks,” he said. “There’s not enough room, so people are out in the bike lane because they can’t get around.”
Pamela Van Hine, a member of the PAC, said a sidewalk-conditions map “would be great.” It might help county leaders better visualize where improvements are needed, she said.
Mary Dallao, director of active transportation with Arlington County Commuter Services, a government agency, told members of the two bodies she would run the idea up the flagpole.
“I can’t make such a map myself, but if people who could make the map agreed it was valuable, I am all for it,” Dallao said.
(Update: County officials seeing this article noted in response that the government currently has an online sidewalk-conditions map with some of the information being sought by advocates.)
The county government recently debuted a new “bicycle comfort map,” using more available data that had been available for past incarnations.
The color-coded map has five levels to rank the caliber of bicycle routes: most comfortable (green); comfortable (blue); less comfortable (red); not recommended (gray); and major thoroughfares that are bicyclist no-go zones (white).
The Nov. 4 joint meeting between the pedestrian and bicycle committees was designed as a get-to-know-you event and to bring up topics of mutual concern, organizers said.
It was a good way to “get out of the ‘silo-ing’ thing” that advocates for bicyclists and pedestrians sometimes find themselves in, said Aaron Schuetz, a member of BAC.
