Walkability - Our Definition

Walkability, as defined by Steve Alley in his Walking Scoping Paper of February 2005, is “the extent to which the built environment is walking friendly.” -- A vague, yet obvious definition. What may be less obvious is the subject for whom the built environment is friendly or not friendly. Everyone has specific needs when it comes to mobility, and it is best to provide access for the lowest common denominator, and for those who require special consideration. This is why ADA-accessibility is so important for the design of walkable infrastructure – sidewalks and other pedestrian infrastructure that are designed to be easy to use for those with disabilities will be usable by all pedestrians.

In Oklahoma City there is a huge range of sidewalk quality, from wide sidewalks with sloped crosswalk cuts, all the way to streets with no sidewalks and little to no thought given to anyone other than motorists. For someone like me or my wife, getting around on foot is not very problematic, but can be inconvenient in areas that have poor pedestrian infrastructure. Our personal limitations for walking are not typical, but represent a high-end level of accessibility. Our comfortable range in terms of distance maxes out at 3.5 miles in one direction (basically a one-hour walk), making a single trip a 7-mile journey. This is by no means preferable and tends to be the limit of our physical exertion in a given day; perhaps a bit further if split into more than one trip over the course of the day.

We live in the Regency Tower on NW 5^th Street (marked by the red star on the maps), and the map below shows buffers of our comfortable range ranked on the familiar A to F scale. This is just a general categorization of areas we can walk to in terms of walkability, and many other factors come into play; such as the quality of the sidewalks, the intensity of car traffic, the safety of intersection crossings, land use, and more. The concentric circles are not an accurate measure of distance in any direction other than the cardinal directions, and this is because Oklahoma City's street grid has very view diagonal streets; so, something that is 3.5 miles away on foot to the northeast, may only be 2 miles away as the crow flies! 

Because we are on the high-end of walking ability, it should be reasonable that the majority of people’s comfortable treks will be encompassed by our range of travel. We hope that this will give insight as to what the potential for walkability can be, while giving those with lesser walking ability the same value by letting them choose their own comfort scale.

Introducing: The Carless Couple

You might be wondering: Who are you? Why are you Carless in OKC?

Don't worry, we have answers - and reasons. Allow us to introduce ourselves.

I'm Elizabeth, and my counterpart is John, my husband. We are newlyweds who are also newly-moved to OKC, all the way from Athens, Georgia.

John and I share similarly unwalkable origins. I grew up in the vast sprawl of metro Atlanta, Georgia, which is arguably the definitive car-centric suburban landscape. My house was a quarter-mile from my elementary school and yet my mom dropped my brother and me off and picked us up each day. In all fairness, this had a lot to do with my mother's overprotective nature; however, this short distance had no sidewalks, and the road was mostly flanked by steep hills or sloping embankments. Growing up, I never walked from place to place. I was barely aware of the concept; save for the small (less than 10) group of kids from the neighborhood that was immediately adjacent to the elementary school, I did not know a single person who walked as a form of transportation. It was the suburbs, of course; everyone drove a car.

John grew up in Macon, Georgia, in a turn-of-the-century neighborhood that at least had sidewalks. Those sidewalks, however, were merely the conduit between neighboring friends' houses rather than major or viable transportation thoroughfares. Macon, as a former urban hub, has more existing and potential walkability in places like the downtown area, but there is a prevailing present-day suburban mindset which of course equals cars... lots of cars.

John and I both eventually ended up in Athens, Georgia, which is a famous little college town where we met and fell in love. John was getting his master's degree in environmental planning and design from the University of Georgia; his education, combined with the fact that we became heavily involved with community activism around the development of our city, provided a constant background to our relationship which revolved around a shared interest in how cities are planned.

Fast forward to late summer 2013: John and I were about to be married, and he received a job offer to be a planner with the City of Oklahoma City. We were suddenly faced with not only the monumental event of surviving our imminent wedding, but also planning and executing a move to Oklahoma City within about two weeks after that wedding. After considering all of our options, we eventually decided to leave both of our (old and quickly failing) cars with our parents and fly to Oklahoma City to begin our new life together.

On September 25, 2013, we stepped off the plane in OKC with three large suitcases and two very annoyed cats. We had a rental car for a few days while we got settled in, and we had every intention of purchasing a car as soon as we could. Buying a car, however, is tedious and overwhelming business, and as we became more comfortable navigating our surrounding area on foot, the idea of buying an automobile became less and less appealing.

Our apartment, as we've said before, is very close to downtown Oklahoma City and is located within what we consider walking distance to quite a few amenities like restaurants, specialty retail, museums, pubs/bars, and parks, to name a few. On the other hand, some amenities, like grocery shopping and general retail, did not seem to be immediately accessible to us, so it became a bit of a challenge for us to figure out how to comfortably and efficiently run necessary errands such as bi-weekly grocery trips. We liked the idea of rising to that challenge because living without a car fits with our ideals of a sustainable, healthy lifestyle - not only for us, but for the earth and future generations.

One major purpose of this blog is to tell the story of our adventures and misadventures with living a carless lifestyle in OKC. As we navigate the city around us on foot (and by public transit), we are not only negotiating a way of living that is new to us, but we are also discovering the joys, pains, quirks, and nuances of our new home. We hope that you'll enjoy sharing the journey with us.

Be Prepared - Carless Rating #1: John's Walk to Work

Be prepared. Being carless means you’ll need to have everything you need for your trip on your person, since you won’t be able to stash things in your car when you go somewhere. But being prepared isn’t just about what you carry with you; it’s also about how you dress. I’ve only lived in OKC for a little over a month, and I’ve experienced the full range of weather – this city goes from hot, to cold, to hot and cold at the same time (hot sun and freezing wind), dry, to humid, all in the matter of a week. Dressing in layers is fine if you have a destination where you can shed your outer layers, but carrying excess clothing around on a long walk can be a hassle. Then what about shoes? You need to know where you’ll be walking, and if you’re unsure of the terrain, it’s best to put on running shoes just in case the pedestrian infrastructure isn’t very good. Are you going to take public transit somewhere? Better have cash on hand or a bus pass. Taxi? Cash. Bicycle? Lock. Always be prepared, or you’re going to have a bad time.

JOHN's WALK to WORK: 21/25 

From The Regency (Red Star) to 420 W. Main St. (Green Star)                                  

 
                 The Walk

 

                     The Regency                                      420 W. Main St.

The first walk I’m going to score is my walk to work. I walk to work every day. ½-mile to work in the morning, ½-mile back for lunch, ½-mile back to work, and then ½-mile back home at 5:00pm. At this distance I don’t have to worry too much about what shoes I’m wearing. I carry a bag with me that has what I need for work, as well as a hat, gloves, and an umbrella just in case the weather turns on me during the day. Downtown OKC is a great place to live if you’re a city government worker because everything is centrally located. The majority of my co-workers have more than 30-minute commutes, and often it takes more time for them to find a parking spot and walk to the office than it does for me to just walk from my front door. The sidewalks are good, and traffic is only really bad right before 8:00am and right after 5:00pm. Each of these ratings will have scores in 5 categories: Distance, pedestrian access, atmosphere, transportation options, and land use. (These may change in future ratings). The scores will be added up to give a total out of a possible 25 points (5 As would be 25 points; 5 Fs would be 5 points)

The distance falls within the A grade of my distance score.

     The pedestrian infrastructure is well-maintained and has great access for the disabled. An A.

     The atmosphere is so-so due to some rough characters around the bus station across the street from my building, but mostly people are well-behaved. Something unique to this walk in the mornings is the giant swarms of Grackle birds. I’m not exaggerating when I say there are thousands of them roosting and flying around, which can make the walk somewhat perilous. It’s really something the city should take care of.  All things considered, I’ll give it a C.

     There are plenty of transportation options – People walk, ride bikes, drive their cars and take public transit. Definitely an A.

     There are several restaurants and convenient stores along the way, but there are also many surface parking lots and vacant buildings. C.

     So that’s 3 As and 2 Cs. If an A = 5 points and C = 3, then that gives this walk a score of 21 out of a possible 25. It’s a very manageable trek, and I’m fortunate to have such good access to my place of business!

Carless Interviewing - Carless Rating #2: Elizabeth Goes To The Capitol

Yesterday, John talked about his walk to work and gave an introduction to being prepared for pedestrian excursions. Considerations like sensible footwear and proper layering are all well and good for normal walks, but most of that goes out the window when you face another monster: job interviews... carless job interviews, that is.

Currently, John is our breadwinner and I am the stay-at-home house- and cat-keeper. Because of this, I do most of the errands during the day, which I love, because it gives me many opportunities do some solo exploring of our new city. I usually explore on foot, but many times, my errands require that I take public transit. I've become fairly comfortable with the bus system here in Oklahoma City. I've heard a lot of nay-saying about its reliability, but in my experience, buses have generally arrived on-time and on-schedule. As someone who has never used much public transit, I've been pleased to find that the bus routes are fairly easy to navigate, which is great because I was pretty intimidated at first. Now I feel like an old pro! It also helps that the OKC Metro Transit Center is literally our next door neighbor.

This is the OKC Metro Transit Center. You see that white building in the top right corner? That's our apartment building. Convenient, right?

That's not to say that there aren't some considerable negatives to bus transit. 99% of the other bus patrons are kind, polite, and generally agreeable people with whom I feel very comfortable sharing my travels. The other 1% tend to be... well, crazy people. The ones who have really loud conversations with other bus riders about their crack-smoking habit. The ones who have no sense of personal boundaries, and insist on talking to you until you take your headphones out of your ears to ask, "what?" Because, you know, I didn't have my headphones in for a reason; namely, as a body language cue to keep from having to talk to strangers. There was the time a guy vomited on the bus. To be fair, he threw up in the little trash can and then immediately got off the bus, but no matter what, that is a germophobe's worst nightmare. I immediately wanted to smear hand sanitizer all over my body, which I guess would have put me right into that 1% bus rider category of "crazy people" as well.

So, to get back to my carless rating, yesterday I had a job interview. My interview took place very near the Oklahoma State Capitol, which is about 3 miles away from our apartment. Under normal circumstances, this could potentially be an on-foot trip, but seeing as it was for an interview, I decided to take the bus. No problem there; I found the best route to take (bus 18), figured out what time I would need to catch the bus in order to make it to the interview on time, and checked the map so I'd know which way to walk toward my destination once I got off the bus.

The difficult part had to do with my actual person. Since I was headed to a job interview, I needed to wear a professional outfit, so for me, that meant a dress and these shoes:

They're not 4-inch stilettos by a long shot, but considering that I was going to need to do some walking between the bus and my destination during this trip, they were an inconvenience. Under normal (i.e. "having a car") circumstances, I would have worn flats for the drive and then just put on my heels for the walk from the parking lot, but that was, of course, not an option here.

The weather was also pretty chilly yesterday, so I had to wear my big puffy coat so I wouldn't freeze while waiting for or walking to the bus. This is another item that I would usually have stashed in my car in the parking lot while interviewing, but I had to take it in with me, which felt a little awkward. It's all okay, though, because I found the building pretty easily - it wasn't very far from the bus stop, only a couple of blocks - and my interview went very well, despite having my puffy coat in tow.

After the interview, my difficulties began. According to my route schedule, I was supposed to only have to wait about 10 minutes for the next scheduled bus to come through, which turned into about 45-50 minutes. I think that a bus was missing from the route on this particular day, which usually wouldn't have bothered me, but since I was interviewing, I took my "sensible, business-like purse" instead of my usual "huge tote bag" and therefore had to forgo taking a book with me. Wah, wah, I know, but I'm a big reader, and when I have to wait around, I like reading.

While I was sitting at the bus stop waiting, my biggest problem with this excursion began: good old-fashioned street harassment! During my 45-minute wait, I was repeatedly catcalled and honked at by men in cars that were driving by. This isn't usually as much of an issue when I'm out, because on normal daily errands I'm wearing comfortable clothes like jeans and sweaters - not that that's a total deterrent, because street harassers aren't ultimately concerned with what you're wearing, they just feel the need to objectify a woman. I always experience some form of street harassment when I travel alone; that is just the sad reality of women's lives. However, there is an undeniable correlation between the amount and frequency of street harassment that happens when I'm wearing clothing that's more revealing, like a dress, which I was yesterday because of my interview; therefore, the harassment was increased from its usual level.

By the time the bus arrived, I was pretty grumpy from being hollered at by men for 45 minutes. I was happy just to sit in the warmth for the long ride back to the transit center, so imagine my confusion and disdain when, about 20 minutes later, I was told by the bus driver that I would need to "scan my pass again" for "the ride back." Um, what? For one thing, I didn't have a pass, but I was too confused to argue, so I just got out more money for another bus fare and made my way to the machine. The driver looked at my fare money questioningly, and I told him that I didn't have a pass, but I would pay again if that was what I needed to do. He then explained that I probably didn't know this, but since there were "outbound" and "inbound" routes, I was supposed to pay again to come back in. This made no sense because I thought the bus route was one big loop, and I had paid to get back on it when I got on the bus after the interview. I also didn't think I was the only person who had been on the bus since I had gotten on, so I wasn't sure why I was being (seemingly) arbitrarily chosen to pay again. Ultimately, he told me he would let me go this time without paying, but it didn't ease my confusion at all. I scoured the OKC Metro website last night for some information about this mysterious inbound fare, but I found nothing to explain it. I've never had another bus driver try to do that, so I'm chalking it up to a weird misunderstanding.

Finally, I was home, and I was able to kick off those high heels and eat a grilled cheese sandwich. It was a really, really delicious grilled cheese sandwich.

Now for the rating of this excursion:

The distance on this trip is a little convoluted because of the public transit aspect of it; the distance from our home is 3 miles (a D grade), but I didn't have to walk 3 miles. I walked more like a mile to a mile and a half once the trip was all done, which would be a B rating. I think I'll split the difference, and give it a C rating for distance.

The pedestrian infrastructure on this trip is, again, not a straightforward rating. However, the transit center and the bus itself are both very ADA-friendly; in addition, the main road on which the bus stop was located for my destination has very nice, well-maintained sidewalks. The road I had to walk on to get to my interview had no sidewalks whatsoever, and I had to walk on the side of the road. In heels. Overall grade: C.

Transportation options: Hey, that's the one place where this trip did well. This area is accessible by car, by bus, and less easily but still possible, by walking. There aren't any bike lanes in the area of the interview, so I'll give it a B.

The land use of the area in question also scores decently. The area around the state capitol is beautiful (I mean, the state capitol building is right there), well-maintained, and feels very safe. However, the area is not very densely developed, so it's a bit sprawly. I'll give it a B.

The atmosphere of this trip FAILS because I have no patience for street harassment. That would have in itself been a fatal blow to the atmosphere rating, but the misunderstanding with the bus driver regarding my fare didn't help either. F for atmosphere.

The overall grade for this trip is a 15 out of a possible 25. It was definitely do-able, and if I were in a situation where I needed to make the trip regularly (as in, I got a job in that area), I'm fairly confident that the kinks would be worked out to make it a convenient trip.

Transit Meltdown- Carless Rating #3: 63rd and May Avenue

The last 5 days have been full of trials for Beth and me; mostly stemming from not having an automobile. All were met with success, but that’s not to say having a car wouldn’t have made our weekend much more convenient. What is becoming abundantly clear in this experiment is the need for improved access to amenities in our daily lives, as well as improved infrastructure for accessing said amenities.

Sometimes you can prepare for a carless trip across town and have all the details ironed out; but the chaotic entropy of the universe oozes all over your plans and forces you to be able to change plans at a moment’s notice. One thing we needed desperately to make our apartment feel more like a home was a good mattress. Up until now we’ve been using a very nice air mattress I borrowed from one of my very gracious co-workers that replaced our camping mattress we were able to fit in our luggage that we brought from Georgia. We haven’t been getting very good sleep, and it has been affecting our energy levels throughout the days. So, Thursday, Beth decided would be “Mattress Day”.

I got off work an hour early since I worked an extra hour earlier in the week, and we were going to catch the bus, Line 7, out to 63^rd Street and May to go to Big Lots and purchase a mattress. Well, we ended up missing the bus we had planned to take at 4:15, but that shouldn’t have been an issue as another bus on the 7 line was arriving at the downtown transit center at 5:00pm. Beth and I got to the bus station with our bus fare in hand at 4:45 and sat down to wait for the bus. There were several other people waiting for our bus – a diverse group of all different ages and races. 5:00pm rolls around and the bus hasn’t shown up. This isn’t too surprising, it being rush hour and all, so we all sit patiently. 5:15 comes and goes, and everyone is getting beginning to get anxious or downright annoyed. It’s now 5:25 and the bus still isn’t there. I think one woman summed up the feeling of everyone, however uncouthly, with her frustrated exclamation, “God Damn it! I got things to be!” It was a funny moment amidst an air of growing frustration.

Finally, at 5:30, a bus whose marquee read “Going Home” pulls into the station, immediately followed by a bus with “Number 7” on the marquee. The driver of the “Going Home” bus was actually the number 7 bus that didn’t show up at 5:00, and had somehow fallen a half-hour behind schedule. She had no reason to have the “Going Home” marquee indicated, but none of the people waiting had any patience for her incompetency and boarded the second number 7 bus which could not pull into the station fully, half hanging out in the road, due to this very late bus. This was very frustrating, and clearly represented a dangerous liability for the Metro Transit system as people boarding a bus in a street are at risk for being hit by other vehicles.

Finally we get on the bus and on our way to the 63^rd and May. Everyone on the bus was enjoying our bus driver’s animated frustration and humor regarding the driver of the previous bus, and we all had a very pleasant ride being able to bond over a common crisis.

After about a 30-minute ride Beth and I dismounted the bus at the bus stop in front of the Big Lots. This bus stop, sadly, is typical for Oklahoma bus stops. A lone bench, with three 2x4s for a seat and an advertisement for a back, sitting on a grassy shoulder with no sidewalk is just about the bare minimum a transit system can provide for its riders. What’s interesting is that COTPA (Central Oklahoma Transit and Parking Authority) doesn’t actually provide the majority of the bus stops in the city. That is contracted out to an advertisement company that owns billboards in the city. The company seems to think that they are doing the city a service by providing these benches for bus stops, but it’s clear what the real motivation is. The bus benches are miniature billboards. The owners have an incentive to make the benches as unusable as possible so as to not obscure the signs on the backing. There is rarely any shelter and often no access for the disabled. It is a sad state of affairs that must be fixed if COTPA plans to have transit system worth anything. I can think of no better way to bolster the transit system and increase ridership than by improving the conditions of bus stops around this city.

Beth and I found a mattress we liked and purchased it. Big Lots will deliver furniture for a flat rate of $60, and will also hold furniture at their store for you to pick up later, which makes purchasing furniture without a car very manageable. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Also in the shopping center is an Akin’s Health Food store where Beth was able to get chocolate soy milk, which you can’t get anywhere in the downtown area, not even Native Roots!

After eating a fast-food dinner while we waited for the bus, our adventure began again. We caught the line 7 bus heading back to downtown, and it was the last bus of the night. It was the same driver we had coming out to Big Lots and she was still talking to people on the bus about how much the previous bus driver had thrown off the route schedule. Many people were upset about how their plans for the evening were disrupted because of these issues. It just goes to show how important it is for a transit system to be well-monitored and staffed with competent, responsible drivers. The ripple effect of this one driver’s inability to be on schedule and follow protocol affected hundreds of Oklahoma City citizens.

The way that it affected us was particularly bad. Because this was the last bus of the night, it was not en route to return to the downtown transit center, but was heading south on Pennsylvania Avenue back to the bus depot. We only found this out as we boarded the bus. The driver was able to take us as far as 10^th Street and Penn, which we accepted because it was a much shorter distance to travel than where we presently were. 10^th and Penn is about 1.5 miles away from our apartment, and is a quickly growing neighborhood. As we came to find out, however, it is still very rough around the edges and was legitimately scary to walk through after dark. I would not recommend anyone do this. We stayed on the well-lit 10^th Street all the way to Classen, turned south, and then east on 5^th Street back to our apartment. It was cold, somewhat frightening, and an overall pain in the ass that could have all been avoided had the one bus driver not ruined it for everyone.

Thursday night was an adventure that I won’t soon forget, and I’m very glad I had my brave and beautiful wife to go through it with, but I think it might be better to plan for trips of this length to be weekend activities that we can accomplish before nightfall.

The distance to Big Lots from our home is about 7 miles, which took around 30 minutes on the bus, which scores an outright F on our scale, but we only had to walk about a mile and a half in total, which would be a B. Given the fact that we had not planned on walking any substantial distance at all, I’m giving this a D.

The pedestrian and transit infrastructure on this journey varied in different locations. For the evening I don’t think I can give the transit system anything higher than a D. We did get where we were going, but we did not get back from where we were going, and the bus stop was down-right depressing. At Big Lots there were very few elements of walkability. The walk from 10^th and Penn was very walkable though, with sidewalks the entire way home. Regardless, I don’t feel comfortable giving anything higher than a D for this journey.

In terms of transportation options to and around 63^rd and May Avenue, the transit system failed to function correctly, there is a significant lack of pedestrian infrastructure, and there are no bike lanes. This location is only convenient to reach by motor vehicle. Again, I’m going to go with a D, because the transit system doesn’t always suck.

The land use choices in the 63^rd and May area are not terrible, if a bit corporate. As a retail hub there is a wealth of things to choose from, though the region may be suffering a decline. It’s hard to say whether the few vacancies in the numerous strip malls are the beginning of a trend or a temporary thing. While there are better areas to shop in the city, there were many people at the various stores. I’ll give it a C.

The atmosphere of this whole evening ebbed from a downright disaster, to a pleasant shopping experience, to a fearful trek home. It was definitely stimulating, but to encounter major inconvenience that puts you in a place where you’re fearful for your well-being is not an acceptable outcome of a car-less journey. The only real redeeming atmosphere was the helpful Big Lots staff. I’m going to give this a D.

So that’s four Ds and one C for a score of 9 out of a possible 25. I think this trip could have scored much higher if the transit system were better controlled. That said, there is a great need for improvements in the pedestrian infrastructure on 63^rd and May. The number one thing that I see that needs to change is that the busses should finish their routes back at the transit center downtown before heading to the depot for the night so as not to strand downtowners in dangerous areas. 

Grocery Shopping -- Carless Rating #4

One of the more daunting tasks of being carless is ensuring that you have access to groceries. More specifically, it is important to have access to healthy foodstuffs. A person can survive off of junk food, but at the expense of their health, and thusly convenient stores are not sufficient outlets for food purchase. You need vegetables, fruit, meats, dairy, etc. Everything you’ve learned since you first saw the food pyramid (whether or not the proportions are correct) needs to be attainable within a reasonable area. There isn’t a full-service grocery store in the immediate downtown area of Oklahoma City, but there are options that are close-by.

Grocery Shopping Walk: 20/25

Affordability has been very important for our grocery shopping since we moved here at the end of September; there are a lot of costs in moving and furnishing an apartment. Luckily, the Homeland grocery store at 18^th Street and Classen meets all of our needs in terms of access to healthy foods at an affordable price. Homeland isn’t the closest store with produce and meats (that would be Native Roots in Deep Deuce) but it is a very nice balance of product and price. It is around 1.5 miles from our apartment building, which is about a 25-minute walk at our pace, and the walk goes through some of the more beautiful and interesting areas of the city. For an able-bodied person this route is completely manageable. But, at this distance, it would not qualify for a true urban grocery shopping experience.

For a grocery experience to be truly urban, it is necessary to be able to walk to the store, buy groceries, and carry them back home. This limits the amount of groceries you can purchase during a single trip to the store, but because of the convenience, it is not an issue to visit your local grocer several times a week. When I lived in Paris for 9 months during my study abroad program in 2008-9 this was how grocery shopping was conducted. I would walk down the street, probably no more than a half-mile to the Fran Prix grocery 3 or 4 times a week and purchase what I needed to make dinner for a couple of days, and try to stock up on lunch, breakfast, and snack stuff. Not only was I able to walk to the grocery store in Paris, but I could also ride the tram system if I didn’t want to walk back with a bunch of groceries in my hands. Many people own rolling grocery carts that allow them to travel more easily with their purchases.  The benefit of this style of grocery shopping (other than what I’ve already mentioned) is that you are able to purchase and consume food at its freshest level because you are not holding food in the freezer for days or weeks on end. I’d imagine that this creates a higher demand for quality fresh foods, which in turn leads grocers to stocking and sourcing the freshest quality products.

When a grocery store moves into the downtown area of OKC, this would be the way I would grocery shop again. But, as it stands now, the Homeland is just far enough away that it’s not reasonable to walk there more than one time each week, and by that time we need more groceries than we can comfortably carry back home.  We often call a taxi to take us home, and because our transportation expenses are so low, spending between $8 and $10 for a weekly taxi ride is still wildly more affordable than taking on a car payment, car insurance payments, fuel costs, and maintenance costs. There are several taxi services in Oklahoma City, but we use Yellow Cab exclusively because of their courteous service and the quality of their taxis. Thunder Cab have been very rude to us, and they are not good at fulfilling their end of the service agreement. One instance in particular: We called for a cab before we checked out of the store, and the driver said he would be there in 15 to 20 minutes. We get outside in 10 minutes to wait, and 20 minutes rolls by, and Beth noticed she had missed a call when we were bagging our groceries inside the loud grocery store… it was the taxi driver. So we called the driver, and he said he had gotten there early and we weren’t there, so he left! And then he wouldn’t come back to pick us up… needless to say, we will not be using their services.

So, let’s rate the carless journey to and from the Homeland from our perspective, that of a weekly shopper:

At a distance of 1.4 miles, this trip is on the lower end of a B on our scale.

The pedestrian infrastructure varies along the way, and generally gets less amenable the closer you get to Homeland. In particular, Harn Park in Heritage Hills has very little accessibility for people with disabilities, and the intersection of Western and Classen can be dangerous. From downtown, through midtown, and up to around 15^th Street, though, the sidewalk infrastructure is very good. I’ll give it a C.

There are many different ways to get to and from the grocery store, but they all are contingent upon outside factors. Biking and walking become difficult when you have lots of groceries; the bus system doesn’t run on Sundays, limiting its usefulness; but cars and taxis are convenient at all times. Today we saw a guy riding an adult-sized tricycle with a basket for carrying groceries between the back two wheels, and it seemed like a pretty useful way of transporting groceries without a car. I’ll give this a C since proper planning could make it easy.

The land use choices along the way to Homeland are some of the best in Oklahoma City. Passing through the trendy Hudson district is pleasant. The Midtown Plaza is on the way, which is home to many local restaurants, shops, bars, and offices. Heritage Hills is a gorgeous neighborhood, and Harn Park is very pretty. This gets a solid A.

The atmosphere is also very nice along the whole distance, and only makes me somewhat uneasy when walking along Classen Drive. I will give this an A as well.

So that is 2 As, 1 B, and 2 Cs, for a total score of 20 out of 25. I look forward to a full-service grocery store moving into the downtown area for convenience, but for now, Homeland and Native Roots provide Beth and me with 99% of the products we need to eat well and live happily. 

Poem

Tourists in Their Own City

It's curious that people take their cameras everywhere
Like tourists in their own city, they feel the need to share.

With smiles fixed, and hair just right, and loved ones in their embrace,
They perch on rocks in the park that's their's, they paid for in the first place.

One night a year, maybe two or three, downtown becomes alive,
with citizens who seem overjoyed, who've made the half-hour drive.

I wish they would do this more often, I wish they would take ownership,
of the city they paid for, the city that needs them to do more than take a trip.

It's dead when they're gone, and alive when they're there,
when they're out of their cars, when they all seem to care,
when they notice pedestrians, and are finally aware,
that people do live here, who walk, and bike,
explore the streets every day and night,
who don't need a car to get there.

So, take your pictures and don't forget, that it's more than your loved ones who make up the set.
It's the city around you, the streets and the lights, and others who use them, who give them their life.

Walking While Female: Let's Talk About Street Harassment

I've been putting off writing this blog post for awhile because, to be quite honest, I wasn't quite ready to delve into all the feelings that I knew would be inevitable when writing about this topic. Street harassment makes me feel a lot of ways - angry, afraid, embarrassed, indignant - and I can ultimately deal with all of those emotions. The one emotion that street harassment arouses in me that I have a difficult time abiding is that of helplessness.

Margaret Atwood has been quoted on the internet a million times: "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them." I fear that at this point, this statement has become so ubiquitous as to lose its impact. It sounds quippy, but I don't think that its meaning can be overstated. What it illustrates is the base level of misunderstanding between the sexes that causes the dissonance that occurs when safety, and more specifically, perception of safety, is being discussed.

I've briefly talked about street harassment on a previous post, but I always knew that I wanted to devote an entire entry to this topic because I feel that it is so important to bring awareness to what women experience when they're out in public, particularly while traveling as a pedestrian or using public transit.

Every single time that I travel alone, I experience some form of street harassment. Sometimes it's just (I hate to say "just" like it's somehow insignificant) being ogled; other times, it's being catcalled, or having suggestive comments made about my appearance or what men would like to "do to me." Sometimes it's men who just won't stop talking to me, no matter how clear I've made it that I'm uninterested in having a conversation, or men who don't respect my personal space. It does not matter what I'm wearing; while there is definitely a spike in the harassment that I experience when I am dressed up, I am still harassed regularly when I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. It makes no difference. Like I've said before, street harassers aren't ultimately concerned with what you're wearing, they just feel the need to objectify a woman.

And to make it perfectly clear: No matter how a woman is dressed, it is not "for you." Whether she's wearing sweatpants or a miniskirt, she is not interested in your opinion of how she looks. She did not dress that way so that random men on the street would stare at her, talk to her, catcall her, or tell her what they think of her appearance. It doesn't matter what a woman is wearing, she does not deserve to be harassed. 

For those who think that women need to just get over it, or take it as a compliment and not be "so sensitive," I have to stress that the point here isn't a matter of just being offended. Street harassment makes women feel unsafe. It's not a compliment, it's not harmless fun, it's not "boys being boys" - it is called harassment for a reason, and that is because it literally makes a woman feel like her physical safety is compromised. At this point in my life, I feel lucky that I have a husband to travel with most of the time, but the problem is that I shouldn't have to feel that way. This isn't the dark ages; I shouldn't need a male chaperone to keep me safe while I travel. Unfortunately, having John with me is the only way that I can ensure that I won't be harassed - make that outright harassed, because although it eliminates the catcalls and suggestive comments, some men will still ogle me when I'm with my husband. He catches them doing it all the time, and then gives them the I-caught-you-you-piece-of-poop stare. Which means that there is actually nothing that I can do to make some men realize that I am a human being who deserves respect. 

The worst thing about street harassment is the fact that it's a lose-lose situation for the victim. On the one hand, it seems like it would feel really good to yell something clever back at the harasser, or to make a disgusted face, or even flip them the bird. And it really does, at first; then it sinks in that you've done almost exactly what they wanted you to do. I am a firm believer that street harassers do what they do because they want to exercise their power over women, whether consciously or subconsciously. When you respond to them, even if it's clever or angry or makes you feel good, to me, you've given them that moment of having power over you. They elicited that response from you. I never know which course of action makes me feel worse ultimately; when I react, I feel better for a moment and then I feel like I've been tricked into a response, but when I do nothing, I feel like I'm letting the harasser off, granting him permission to treat me that way by way of my silence. Either way, it makes me feel helpless, that there is literally nothing I can do to avoid being victimized, and in the words of the great Tavi Gevinson, "I shouldn't have to have a strategy to preserve my personal space."

While one should not have to have a strategy, there are resources online that can help women deal with street harassment: Hollaback is a great website/support forum that I would recommend. From my own personal experience, I can't say that I've found the best method of dealing with street harassment, as is clear from my conflicting feelings described above. However, getting yourself a good old bottle of pepper spray will at least make you feel safer. I also have a self-defense cat on my keychain that I really love. And until things are fair in this world, and the responsibility of ending street harassment is rightfully assumed to belong to men, you should have a few tricks up your sleeve to (hopefully) avoid some unwanted contact. You can avoid making eye contact, and use headphones as a way to discourage unwanted conversation. I was raised in the South, and it was ingrained in me to be "polite" to people, so I've had to practice how to be curt and firm in cutting off someone who is not respecting my boundaries. If you need to do this, you should practice, too. It gets easier the more you do it! If you're so inclined, you can also think of something clever, scathing, and/or slightly baffling (One great way to fend off a harasser? Seem crazier than they are) to yell back at catcallers. Some women like to yell "show some respect!" - which I like. 

The way things are at this point in time, the best thing that we as women can do is to empower ourselves, and try our hardest to not feel helpless. I hope that in the future, it won't be our job to avoid street harassment, but rather, men's job to stop doing street harassment, but until then, stay safe, stay firm, stay strong, and help raise awareness! 

Automobile Alley – Carless Rating #7

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to rate another one of our favorite destinations: Automobile Alley.
 

Carless Rating: Automobile Alley - 22/25

Automobile Alley was one of the first places I discovered when we first moved here. I needed to get a couple of shirts and ties cleaned for John. I had looked up Fashion Cleaners, which had great reviews, and is located very close to our apartment, so I took a walk up there to drop off his items. After that errand, I didn't have any plans for a bit, so I kept walking up 6th Street until I reached Broadway. I previously had no idea that this area existed, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see what looked like an exciting district to explore! I walked up the street, finding great stores like Plenty Mercantile, and restaurants like Hideaway Pizza, and eventually stopping in at Broadway Wine Merchants to pick up a six-pack of Big Sky Brewing Company beer to take home. That was the real kicker for me; I hadn't seen a place to buy craft beer since we had arrived in OKC, so I was really happy to come across a great selection in a fun location.
 

I hurried home, and I couldn't wait to tell John about Automobile Alley. As soon as he got home, I insisted that we head right back out to go up there. It turned out to be even better than I'd originally thought. That night, and in subsequent trips, we discovered many of our favorite places that have become fixtures on our weekend adventures. John is a huge Flaming Lips fan, and was totally overjoyed to come across the Womb Gallery. Similarly, I'm a huge cupcake fan, so I was excited to see (and taste) Sara Sara Cupcakes. John found his new favorite cologne and many other great gift items at Shop Good. On a friend's recommendation, we tried Iguana Grill and were blown away by the freshness and quality of their food. We discovered a great little wine bar with a patio called Peloton, tucked away behind Schlegel Bikes. Eventually, we fell in love with the awesome burgers, huge beer selection, and great atmosphere at S&B's Burger Joint, where I swear by the King burger (topped with peanut butter and bacon - I promise, it's delicious).

  
One of the best things about Automobile Alley is the fact that it is located very close to our apartment, and is therefore super convenient for us to walk to. We can walk straight up 6th Street just a few blocks and be there, which is nice when we want to pop in to Broadway Wine Merchants for a six-pack, or when there's tons of snow and ice everywhere, like there was a few weeks ago, when we were bored and wanted some S&B's burgers and made the wintry trek up there to eat dinner.
 

We're still making our way through Automobile Alley to try all the food and see all the shops. A great way to discover Automobile Alley is the Shop Hop, which is an open house type event on the third Thursday of each month, when shops and restaurants stay open late and offer samples and freebies, while food trucks serve delicious food outside. We love any event that includes food trucks, and the last time we went, we got to explore even more of Automobile Alley than we usually would. We'll be checking out tomorrow night's Shop Hop from 6-9pm (1/16/2014). And in the future, we're excited to try out Red PrimeSteak, which is a serious contender at this point for our Valentine's Day dinner!
 

Now, let's rate Automobile Alley!
 
Automobile Alley is located just under half a mile from our apartment, which would get an A rating for distance.
 
The walk to Automobile Alley gets a C rating for pedestrian infrastructure. There are good sidewalks, crosswalks, and walk signals on the way, but unfortunately, Broadway itself is lacking in crosswalks and pedestrian signals. If you have to cross as a pedestrian, you have to just take your chances, which is scary and difficult on such a wide road.
 
Transportation options - Automobile Alley has a good range of transportation options. In addition to the road for cars (it is Automobile Alley, after all), there are nicely kept sidewalks for pedestrians, and the bus runs through the area with Routes 2 and 24, and to a lesser extent, Route 3. As far as bicycles go, there are no bike lanes, which is a drawback, but the road is wide and easily cyclable, and there's a Spokies station at the corner of 10th and Broadway. Automobile Alley gets a B for transportation options.
 
The land use in Automobile Alley is one of its top assets. A good portion of the district features buildings with commercial units at street level and residential units above, which is a key concept to maintaining density in urban areas. Many of the buildings are repurposed spaces, and the mix of restaurants, shops, and offices provides a nice flow to the area. The walk to the district is lined with various business and government buildings, but they all make good use of the street level space. Automobile Alley gets an A for land use.
 
Automobile Alley has a wonderful atmosphere; the architecture is unique and the shops and restaurants provide a fantastic local eating and dining experience. Events like the Shop Hop and the (sadly semi-defunct) Gazette Halloween Parade lend an air of tight-knit community to the district. The walk to Automobile Alley has a pleasant atmosphere as well; the area feels safe at any time of day or night. Let's give it an A for atmosphere!
 
Overall, Automobile Alley gets a 22 out of 25. I'm expecting more great things out of this district! Go check out the Shop Hop tomorrow night (Thursday, 1/16/14) from 6-9pm - if you see us there, make sure to say hello!

If we don't catch you at the Shop Hop, you can see us tonight on OKC Fox 25 news at 9:00pm. We'll be talking about the blog with Wendy Suares!

A Day in the Life of CarlessInOKC - Video

This is a video that shows what a typical Saturday looks like for us here at CarlessInOKC. We visit a few local businesses, get a TimeCar to travel across town for groceries, and we walk! I apologize in advance for the shakiness...

Watch Your Step! - Six Hazards of Being a Pedestrian

Today we're going to look at some things that make being a pedestrian more difficult. Most of the things on this list could be prevented, and in an ideal situation wouldn't be an issue. Let's take a look at some hazards involved with being a pedestrian:

1. Poop. Dog poop, everywhere.

We’ll start the list off with a bio-hazard. I love seeing people out walking their dogs, but I hate that nobody in this area picks up after them. There’s poop in the planters, poop in the grass, and poop on the sidewalk. Where do dog owners get off thinking it is acceptable to leave a steaming pile of feces on the sidewalk? Our building doesn't have any trash cans or disposal bags outside, which would make a big difference, but I don’t think it would solve the problem. If you own a dog, pick up after them. Period. It’s disgusting, unsightly, and selfish. If you can’t pick up after your dog, then you don’t deserve to own one.

Right on the sidewalk that's still covered in snow a week later.

Good grief; do you dog owners have no decency?

Oh come on! Horse poop?! In Midtown?!

2. While we’re on the subject of animals… 

Being chased by a dog is no fun… well, that’s not always true. We were chased down the street by three adorable puppies the other day, and that was the cutest attack ever. But I still felt like I had the responsibility to make sure the pups got back to their owner’s property, which wasn't easy. If you have dogs, please put them in an enclosure or have them leashed. We've been chased down by barking angry dogs and I’m not sure what to do in the situation. I don’t want to hurt an animal, but I’m not going to let an animal bite me or my wife.

Pit Bulls can be sweet, but I'm not willing to wait to find out when one is charging me on the street.

Other animals can pose a hazard as well. In downtown OKC when the weather is warm grackles are EVERYWHERE;  Thousands of them sitting on electrical wires and on the ground, just waiting for the moment to drop poop on you from above.

It’s amazing how much of an issue poop is when steps aren't taken to control animal populations.

Multiply this by several hundred, and you've got the flocks that swarm downtown OKC.

"This is my turf!"

3. Okay, no more poop. Another hazard is the weather.

If you’re a pedestrian you have to be prepared for Mother Nature. Whether it’s hot, cold, or both hot and cold at the same time (Oklahoma City has demonstrated to me that this is possible several times; freezing wind and baking hot sun. How do you prepare for this?!) you need to be sure that you've got the appropriate clothing and accessories. An umbrella, sunglasses, scarves, gloves, hats, and other appropriate clothing choices will keep you comfortable regardless of the weather.

4. Distractions

Texting and talking on the phone while driving is a serious issue that creates a hazardous environment for drivers on the road, cyclists and pedestrians. But pedestrians are not innocent here by any means. I’ve seen people texting while walking and walk right out into an intersection when they don’t have the right-of-way. This behavior is bad for many reasons. It puts your life in the hands of drivers who may not be paying attention either. It also gives pedestrians a bad reputation, which is the last thing that needs to happen if we want to successfully campaign for better pedestrian infrastructure. Groups of pedestrians that are too engrossed in their conversation to be aware of their surroundings are also at risk of injury.

Here Elizabeth demonstrates how not to cross the street.

5. Unsafe Intersections

In Oklahoma City there are plenty of road intersections that are perfectly safe, but there are also those that are potentially dangerous for pedestrians. In particular the Classen diagonal that runs from Midtown up to 16^th Street has several difficult intersections. These three intersections have very poor pedestrian crossings, either no crosswalks, faulty signals, or no signals. 

Classen and 11th: A six way intersection with two crosswalks

Classen and 13th: This intersection is HUGE. There aren't sidewalks on each side of the road, so this one is particularly difficult.

Classen and 16th: Do you want to cross this on foot?

6. Poorly Maintained Infrastructure

Sidewalks can fall into disrepair and become hazardous for daily use. This can be realized in many different ways: vegetation can be allowed to take over the sidewalk, with street trees making the sidewalk uneven, or shrubs having to be pushed out of the way. With all the snow and ice we've been having lately it’s become apparent that clearing sidewalks is not a high priority. While none of the streets are covered in snow thanks to the snow plow trucks, I have to walk like a penguin so that I don’t slip and fall on the ice-covered sidewalks in downtown. There should really be some effort given to ensuring that sidewalks are maintained as well as streets. It’s not fair that pedestrians have to deal with snow and ice for a whole week after it has fallen because pedestrian safety isn't a priority.

Where'd the sidewalk go? It snowed 5 days ago.

It's areas like these that make me glad I'm not wheelchair-bound.

These are just some of the hazards we face as pedestrians, and the majority could be avoided by taking personal responsibility. The others require municipalities to properly implement pedestrian infrastructure, which is our main goal at CarlessInOKC; walking needs to be a safe and easy option. What other hazards can you think of? Feel free to comment and start a discussion!

Our Guide To Pedestrian Etiquette

Last post, we talked about the hazards of being a pedestrian, which focused on outside threats that must be avoided by those who are walking. Now, I'm going to turn the tables: How can YOU be a good pedestrian?

The single most important thing that you, as a pedestrian, must do is pay attention. The burden of responsibility here should be equal between cars and pedestrians, but sadly, that's not usually the case. More often than not, pedestrians need to be extra vigilant to avoid being struck. Paying attention while walking means that you need to avoid texting and talking on the phone at critical times during a walk; i.e. when you're crossing the street or in an otherwise potentially unsafe situation, like a construction area. Also, while walking with a friend or a group of friends is fun and usually safe, make sure that you're not so distracted by your conversation that you make a mistake like crossing the street when you're not supposed to, or not noticing when something dangerous comes into your path. 

One of the best things that you can do from the standpoint of safety, which is related to paying attention, is walking decisively. Many car drivers are already too confused by and dismissive of pedestrians as it is, and waffling while walking just makes it worse. Use your right of way, and cross with purpose at intersections. Your confidence will help drivers have more respect for pedestrians.

 

Ideally, car drivers will always have a close eye out for pedestrians, but if it's nighttime and you're wearing all black, you're going to be difficult to spot. If you're walking after dark, try to wear white or bright colors, or stick a piece of reflective tape for runners on your jacket or bag to increase your visibility.

 
I know this can sometimes be a huge pain, but you should only cross the street using crosswalks whenever possible. Sometimes this is not feasible. At my work, for example, the inbound bus stop is located across the street from my building, and there is zero pedestrian infrastructure in the area: no sidewalk to be found, and certainly no crosswalk. I have no choice but to cross the street in the afternoons, and it's not always easy. When the proper pedestrian infrastructure is in place, however, you should always use the crosswalk rather than dashing across in an unmarked area.

 

Hopefully, when you're out walking, you're not the only person using the sidewalk. The golden rule is to keep to the right. If you're not already to the right and you come across other walkers or runners, then move over. If you're walking in a group and you approach other walkers, you should break up your group and move to the right to allow room for the other walker(s) to move past you. If everyone on the sidewalks follows this etiquette, everything should run smoothly for all.

 

Between this post and the last post, we run the risk of making it seem like being a pedestrian is scary, but it's really not. Walking is one of the safest forms of transportation, especially in a city with proper pedestrian infrastructure, but as with anything, there are steps that you can take to make it as safe as possible. Now that you know how to safely be a pedestrian, have fun and enjoy what naturally happens when you slow down and get a chance to notice the world around you. Keep your eyes peeled, pay attention, and go forth safely onto the sidewalks!

 

Do you have any pedestrian safety and etiquette tips that you'd like to share?