> > I like to walk and bike because it's fun and it would be even more fun > if more car drivers joined us... that's a message car drivers and > transportation policy makers also need to hear. >
This really isn't in response to this specific thread, but to the pro-walking threads that keep cropping up. A month or so ago there was an announcement on morning TV that the mayor's office would be giving out donuts in celebration of the opening up of one of the downtown streets that had been blocked by construction all summer. Since I had been inconvenienced by this blocked zone probably a hundred times in the course of the construction season (and since I really wanted a Krispy Kreme), I stopped by at the appropriate hour. I was told the donut program was only for drivers. If I wouldn't tell anyone, though, they'd give a VERY crestfallen me a donut anyway. I felt like a cheat and even guiltier than usual when I devoured the fat-laden nutrition-free confection, but I was also very angry, which is why I didn't post anything here at the time. Pedestrians are just as inconvenienced as drivers and need to be considered in public policy decisions even for something as inconsequential as a gala celebration of the re-opening of a downtown intersection. Drivers rarely sprain their ankles when hobbling across construction zones and while they may suffer no less frequent detours than pedestrians, at least they're sheltered from inclement weather. N.S. Gill (pedestrian) About Guide to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN http://minneapolis.about.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
