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aim of integrating and coordinating automo- bile, transit, foot, and bicycle use citywide. Some arterials have already been converted. In addi- tion, transportation network plans are to be developed for specific areas of the city. Charlotte, North Carolina, has traditionally The Path to Pcdestrianization .s a truism that most suburban land-use p.lan- g and development over the past four de- cades has made it very difficult to build walkable communities. Connectivity has been designed out--orwasn't there to begin with. From the 1940s on, neighborhood streets have grown wider, densities have decreased, and land uses have become more strictly segregated. Cul-de-sacs were seen as the basic organizing principle. ThCc<;e "improvements" have had many unin- tended consequences. The wide streets actually imperil pedestrians and bicyclists. Low densiries and segregated land uses put people farther from work, play, school, and daily errands, making cars necessary for most trips. Cul-de-sacs cut ofF connectivity for local residents. People can and do walk in their neighborhoods, bur it's prerty tough to actually get anywhere. My modest solution to these disconnections is an old one: the dedicated pedestrian path. Pedestrian paths between :md among houses were popularized in the U.S. early in the 20th century, first in Radburn. NewJersey, and later in new towns like Greenbelt, Maryland. More A~.ndy, ,,:'e'v:.see:1 tl:em in new urbanist vil- _s lIke SeasIde, Flonda. The paths offet a way to get around safely. (At least, that's true in the older planned com- munities; in (he more spread-our new towns like Columbia, Maryland, and Reston, Vir- taken an auto-oriented approach to road design. Today, the city is taking a different tack. "We're looking to create a thought process that ensures that all users and all modes are considered," says city transportation planner Tracy Newsome. A multidisciplinary team convened by the Charlotte DOT is creating a six-step process to evaluate each project in terms of the needs of various users, and in terms of the broader trans- portation and land-use context. The process, now under review, will identifY opportunities in each street segment to close gaps and increase connections in the bicycle, pedestrian, transit, and automobile networks, before selecting and modifYing one of five multimodal street types. While the system won't result in equal treatment of everyone on every street, the intent is to complete the travel net- work for all users. Converging trcnds The complete streets movement represents a convergence of several existing trends, spear- headed by a variety of groups. Bicycle advo- cates have long fought for "routine accommo- Pedestrian paths art' a way to connect cul-de- sacs ulith the street netulol'k. ginia, where paths are sometimes isolated, per- sonal safety has been a concern.) But would pedestrian paths help to solve the mobility and accessibility problems of existing suburbs? I suggest that they would. The first step in a suburban retrofIt is for the local jurisdiction, in an open and public pro- cess, to idem!!}' potential linkages-for in- stance, a path connecting a series of cul-de-sacs to a local arterial. These linkages could be narrow pathways along Jar lines, maybe only a few feet wide. with or without a fence. In some cases, tbey would be formalizing long-known American Planning Association 23 dation" policies. Innovative cities have adopted rnultimodal plans to free residents from automobile dependence. New urbanist build- ers have emphasized the need for walkable communities. They have been joined recently by public health advocates seeking to increase physical activity and stem the obesity epidemic. Fi- nally, more and more state and local transpor- tation agencies are recognizing the need to do things differently. At last January's annual meeting of the T rans- portation Research Board-an event usually dominated by traditional highway engineering concerns-more than 180 people packed a session called "Complete the Streets," with highway planners sitting side by side with dis- ability and bicycle advocates. A series of similar sessions is planned for next year's meeting. Complete streets may yet become a way for all road users, and all road designers, to shape the future of a maturing road network. Barbara McCann is a transportation and land-use consultant in Washington, D.C. and well-used neighborhood "cur-throughs." Of course, the landowners would have to agree to gram a limited-use easement to the local jurisdiction, with or without paymem. Some community-minded homeowners might be perfectly happy to do so. In all cases, property owners would have the right either to turn down the easement request or to demand to be paid fair market value. To sweeten the pot for some reluctant landown- ers, the local government might even throw in the price of nice fencing. And what would it cost? Let's say a half-acre lot in a particular jurisdiction is worth $50,000 (not counting improvements). A 450-square- lUoteasement might beworrh $1,000 to$l ,500. A modest number of easements could be pur- chased ft)r about $50,000 a year. This is a small idea, but a worthy one. Daniel Burnham's admonition to "make no little plans" doesn't, I think, extend to little ideas that can pay some dividends, in this case improving accessibility and mobility in and among suburban neighborhoods at low cost. In rerms of changing the DNA for growth, this would b{~ more like modest gene splicing. Ev- ery little change helps. Lee R. 1:pstein Epstein. a planner and lawyer, directs the land, pro- gram for the Chesapeakt, B;t}' Foundation in Annapo- lis, M;ltyLmd.