Where the sidewalk ends
Metro cities are noticing the need for more connected infrastructure, but we have some big problems to solve in our community.
Think about transportation in Windsor Heights, a Des Moines suburb, and you might think about speed cameras in use there which have proven controversial in recent years as the city sought to add cameras to its stretch of the interstate.
It’s unfortunate that the community’s desire for speed enforcement often overshadows the point that Windsor Heights is a progressively-minded city on many issues. The city supports a number of sustainability initiatives, including a watershed group along Walnut Creek, and recently bolstered its credibility in transportation by becoming the 4th metro city to adopt a complete streets policy.
Complete streets policies argue road infrastructure should be welcoming to people of all ages and conditions, whether they walk, ride a bike or transit, or drive.
But there’s a big barrier to complete streets in Windsor Heights: the 73rd/8th Street interchange on I-235, which along with Walnut Creek creates a pedestrian dead zone at the community’s southwest corner. This zone has no sidewalks. On the map below, they end where one red marker is shown in Clive (northwest) and two others are shown in West Des Moines (southeast).
The markers showing the ends of the sidewalk are less than half a mile apart, but walking between them safely takes between 2.5 and 3 miles, even when using the bike trail on the east side of Walnut Creek.
The challenges to improving pedestrian access through the zone are significant because of the creek and the railroad line that bisects it. Many layers of government are also at play, from the 4 municipalities meeting in the area to the state and federal governments whose policies affect development in the interstate corridor.
Still, every day, people walk through this zone, wearing trails alongside 73rd street and dodging traffic under the freeway bridge. With a car, the area feels like one seemless commercial district, on foot, it is anything but. Crossing under the interstate west of Walnut Creek is not possible for persons with disabilities and is dangerous for anyone else who ends up dodging through traffic, over railroad tracks, or along a creek bed.
In July 2015, when Windsor Heights adopted its complete streets policy, Mayor Diana Willits signaled she understands why it is important to make streets safe for all who use them.
“People of all ages and abilities live in Windsor Heights, and they should be able to move around their community safely and comfortably regardless of how they travel,” she said in a news release at the time. She continued:
“It’s not only the right thing to do — it’s a smart way to attract people and businesses, increase property values, and empower residents to lead more healthful lives. People want to live in walkable cities.”
Yet we live in a time when Windsor Heights’ use of automated speed enforcement generates headlines and controversy, but not being able to walk from West Des Moines to Windsor Heights through the same area does not generate much discussion. That’s unfortunate.
It remains to be seen when — or how — the metro community will solve alternative transportation bottlenecks like this one, but it is clear regional collaboration will be necessary to plan for and fund these projects.
Windsor Heights should be commended for recognizing the need for complete streets with its new policy, but other cities need to join the effort, and all regional governments need to act to deliver results.
