“Distance changes utterly when you take the world on foot.”

(Bill Bryson, author of A Walk in the Woods)

Despite all the meetings, all the questions asked and answered, despite the many (MANY) maps that have been unfurled and presented to curious, crinkly-browed residents — a bit of confusion still surrounds the impending U.S. 33 North Connector project.

Or maybe it’s not confusion. Maybe it’s disappointment.

Recently, I stood outside with the City Engineer and a group of Goshen residents who worried aloud about the fact that the long-established pedestrian crossing over the tracks at 9th Street and Washington has been blocked.  This particular crossing has been identified by three separate neighborhood association groups as significant to the area’s walkability.  Over the last 18 months, I’ve heard people speak gently in favor of keeping the pedestrian crossing open; and I’ve heard people speak forcefully in favor of keeping the crossing open.

Nonetheless, the sidewalk at the site has been torn out and a metal guardrail obstructs the path. To punctuate the closure, an orange snow fence runs along the railroad tracks, a fence that now sags because so many hands have pushed it down to hop over it.  If the unauthorized hopping continues, the City Engineer has reported, the railroad will begin issuing fines.

The arguments in favor of the closing go something like this:

1. Keeping it open is dangerous
2. Keeping it open is EXPENSIVE (with the new road configuration, the railroad will require pedestrian crossing gates)
3. You’ll get used to it
4. It will be fine

Like some of the nearby residents, I’m having a hard time accepting the closure. This is the second pedestrian crossing that’s being eliminated close to Goshen’s downtown core (the first was at N 5th Street).  Both were done quickly and quietly without much public discussion.

I’m trying to tell myself that in the grand scheme of things, these closures are small. Except I’m not sure I believe it. The closures represent something bigger than just a space to slip through to get to the other side. They’re in conflict with the collective vision and goals we’ve stated in Goshen’s Comprehensive Plan, such as creating and maintaining a walkable community. And how the closures have been handled is in conflict with our declared support for including residents — particularly organized neighborhood groups — in civic decision-making.

It’s so much faster and easier (seriously, SOOO much easier) to make decisions without a lot of people dumping their opinions into the mix. But as an elected official, I fear that  when we fail to respond in any significant way to public input, we’re training citizens to stay out of the democratic process.

Everyone can’t get everything they want.  That’s obvious. Resources are limited. But in this circumstance, we may be working against ourselves. We say that safe pedestrian crossings are too expensive, but there are clear economic benefits associated with community walkability (see, for example, the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program study by Christopher B. Leinberger and Mariela Alfonzo).

At a public meeting last week, residents were told the plan is final. They were also told, however, that a pedestrian crossing could still be added at 9th Street if — once the North Connector route is completed — there remains support for the crossing.

So, I suppose the final/almost final message is STAY TUNED…