Imagine That

BY MATTHEW MERITT

As frustrating as the COVID Lockdown has been, one thing I was happy to do less was use the car. With more done at home, I’d go days between drives and weeks between fill ups. 

As a result, instead of speeding by my surroundings as I combusted along from place to place, I could take them in on foot during more frequent walks with my family. 

Even so, the car was still present – not in itself but in my very surroundings. We walked along the side of a street, not on a sidewalk. I realized that as things recovered, I’d go back to using the garage door far more than our front door. Though biking seems a fairly popular activity in our vicinity, I cannot help a bit of apprehension when I see those daring souls cycling along various state routes as every manner of mechanical contraption grinds past.

When it comes to transportation, the car has priority and everything is designed to its scale, not human scale. The idea of walking for anything beyond exercise – say, with a destination like work, shopping, a recreation area or visiting friends – doesn’t seem to be part of the way things are. 

So, I’ve watched with curiosity as the Town of Big Flats has been updating its comprehensive plan. With ideas gathered from residents and various stakeholders, the plan basically amounts to:

• What should be done?
• What’s the potential timeframe? 

Would walking and biking figure in?

I’m grateful that the town has been working on this important document because (as the plan says) it will “allow funding agencies to support initiatives that have been agreed upon by the community.” It also gives people a reason to imagine what they would like their town to be in the future – not too distant, let’s hope. 

The word “walk” appears nine times, by my count, in the plan, and the word “bike” six times. There are encouraging references to:

• “strategies that support bicycling and walking” 
• addressing health needs through walkability 
• working with owners on routing trails through private land
• a Safe Routes to School program, and
• connectivity between neighborhoods

It will be interesting to see how these ideas take shape in coming years. Of the 65 total actions mentioned in the plan (folded into 14 policies and five main goal areas) five are categorized under “Providing Transportation Choices” and three of those list a timeframe of one to two years.  

I raised the walkability suggestion during one of the community meetings held to gather public comment. It was encouraging to see that the plan consultant, Bergmann Associates, included ideas from me and others.

“Connection of activity centers and trail networks was a part of our plan,” said Bergmann’s Robert Switala, who kindly replied to a number of my questions by e-mail.

“There are many great amenities within the Town and region but most are disconnected,” he continued. “The initiative in the Comp Plan would help to identify potential connectivity opportunities and look at whether that is done via sidewalks, trails, bike paths, etc.”

I noticed in particular the “Safe Routes to School” idea, which I presume means you can send your children off the school on foot and not worry about safety. Would it be worth considering an upgrade to “Safe Routes to Everywhere”?

Within town, our family’s main destinations are Community Park, Minier Fields and Minier’s Plaza on Canal Street. All are well within two miles as the crow flies. That’s a quick bike ride, a pleasant walk or a leisurely run. 

But I don’t imagine covering that distance via a bike or pedestrian lane just shoehorned along an existing roadway. Fortunately, it seems the plan can be used to look into possibilities like safety-oriented upgrades to current sidewalks and trails and linking those with newly built, aesthetically pleasing pedestrian and bike routes that can be used to go from place to place – and get exercise in at the same time. 

The car has its place. But so do bikers and walkers – and the safer that place the better.
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I admit, doing this may be a little different and a little risky. Put another way, you could also say it’s a little bold. As it stands, while I do see people biking around our home, I wouldn’t feel perfectly comfortable, for example, walking or biking with my children the two miles to Community Park. 

I encourage Big Flats residents to take a look at the plan. A lot of work was put into it and maybe ideas you have (more sensible than mine) are already in there. Besides preparing for the future, the plan offers a nice summary of what our town has – parks, trails, bike routes and more. 

The plan is a useful tool for keeping all that tuned up and running, said Town Supervisor Ed Fairbrother, “to make sure that Big Flats is a great place to live and raise a family.”

That’s just what I had imagined. 

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The Plan – click to take a look

Very Interesting
There’s an interesting statistic in the plan that tells a lot about the health of a community. It’s one that is likely similar for many communities, including Big Flats and, I think, could help officials not just plan for the future, but influence it. I’ll get to it in a future post. 

Notable Facts From the Plan

• ​Big Flats falls within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, which is the largest estuary in the United States.
• Despite the county’s population decrease, the Big Flats population has been slightly increasing since 2000, but is expected to head down in coming years. 
• The median home value in Big Flats is $160,000.
• 4.2 percent of residents walk to work. 
• The plan lists eight walking or bike routes in Big Flats
• The plan lists 16 parks, from very small to pretty big. 
• The plan notes, “Those in communities with sidewalks are 47% more likely to be active at least 30 minutes per day.”

How the Plan is Laid Out
The plan has one main vision statement for the town, from which unfold five goals, 14 policies and 65 actions.

Vision
The Town of Big Flats will maintain its high quality of life and small-town amenities while encouraging sustainable residential, commercial, industrial and recreational growth. It will prioritize regional connectivity economic development, tourism, and a healthy range of housing and employment choices. ​