The Walton Family Foundation has been a supporter of trails for the past 16 years, working hand in hand with local municipalities to build more than 250 miles of trails in Northwest Arkansas. It’s evident local trails are popular, but the most recent Study Shows Thousands Using Regional Trails suggests they are primarily used for recreation. In our recently released quality of life survey, residents also expressed a strong desire for diverse transportation options.
These findings encourage us to think about what we can do to motivate our residents to use bikes for transportation. After attending the Citybuilders Symposium in Copenhagen, Denmark with more than a dozen Northwest Arkansas representatives from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, we want to prioritize answering the following three key questions:
1. How can we ensure our modes of transportation are integrated?
One morning we biked to a train station, boarded the train with our bikes and traveled to a suburb of Copenhagen. Then we biked about 13 miles back to Copenhagen. This flexibility accommodates myriad routines and needs.
2. Can we get better information faster if we test transportation infrastructure, collect data, and evaluate design?
The Danes pride themselves on quality design from streets to bike locks. These designs are piloted, data are collected, and then the design is tweaked, overhauled or abandoned based on the data before being implemented. This process creates a sense of evolution and constant infrastructure improvement geared toward the users.
3. How do we make sure we are asking the right questions?
Typically, we ask how many cars can a street move from point A to point B. In Denmark, the question is: How many people can a street move from point A to point B? Not surprisingly, a street can carry more people when it accommodates multiple modes of transportation.
I’m encouraged by the conversations taking place about transportation needs and alternatives in our region. I know Copenhagen inspired all of us to imagine a better system for moving people in Northwest Arkansas.
