What does it take to inventory all of Duluth’s sidewalks?
As it turns out—a lot. Our seasoned intern gives a candid (okay, blunt) run through of the process. Four hundred miles to walk isn’t too far, is it?
Take a listen. (4:21)
[audio:http://duluthsuperioropenmic.org/audio/PodcastSidewalks.mp3]
Steven Fisher, Executive Director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association, made the case for the value of the Great Lakes navigation system and discussed the legislative and regulatory issues posing challenges to the maritime industry at the MIC’s annual meeting on July 20, 2011.
Fisher noted that throughout the United States, road and rail congestion threaten economic growth and quality of life. Transportation planners (including the MIC) are examining how short sea shipping via the Great Lakes can ease some of the burden on the land-based transportation modes.
View Fisher’s discussion of all topics (4:39)
Fisher asserted that waterborne transportation has demonstrated that it is the safest, most fuel efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable mode of moving goods in the global economy. Vessels on the Great Lakes burn significantly less fuel and produce fewer emissions and have far fewer accidents than trains or trucks.
Bottom line: there’s not enough money to properly dredge many Great Lakes commercial harbors.
Most ports require regular dredging to remove sand and silt that naturally accumulate in shipping channels. This work is the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but its FY 2012 budget only provides $22.4 million to dredge Great Lakes navigation channels, less than half the amount necessary. As a result, many ports are becoming difficult for ships to navigate, and in some cases, shipping channels have become blocked and two are slated for closure.
Congress should provide adequate funds in the Fiscal Year 2012 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill to address the backlog of dredging projects at Great Lakes ports,
Bottom line: The money being collected from waterborne commerce is not dedicated to commercial ports.
The Harbor Maintenance Tax is a fee collected from domestic commercial cargo loaded or unloaded from vessels using US ports in order to fund the Army Corps of Engineers’ operation and maintenance activities. This includes the dredging that is needed to keep the Great Lakes ports up and running.
Despite the fact that adequate revenue (approximately $1.3 billion annually) is being collected, Congress has traditionally used about half of the fund’s money to offset general spending. Fisher noted that although there is significant support in Congress to enact legislation to ensure that funds collected for harbor maintenance are spent for their intended purpose, the current political gridlock in Washington DC is hindering the progress of this initiative.
View Fisher’s discussion of Great Lakes dredging and funding (1:16)
Bottom line: there is widespread agreement in both the maritime industry and the environmental community that the best way to prevent the transfer of aquatic invasive species is to keep them off ships in the first place. For that reason, there is considerable research being done to develop technology to treat ballast water and remove or kill aquatic nuisance species.
In 2007, the Great Ships Initiative (GSI) opened the world’s first fresh water ballast treatment technology test facility, located in Superior, Wisconsin.
View Fisher’s discussion of the GSI (1:13)
Bottom line: both the US and Canada are continuing to invest in the future of the shipping industry on the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway, which is managed and operated jointly by Canada and the United States, is a unique and significant navigation route into the North American heartland for deep-draft vessels coming from the Atlantic Ocean and beyond.
Fifty years after its construction, both countries recognize that it provides important economic benefits by transporting cargoes such as grain, iron ore, and steel into and out of the Great Lakes region. Recent policy changes in Canada have spurred $400 million investment in rebuilding its Great Lakes fleet.
View Fisher’s discussion of future prospects for the GL maritime industry (1:05)
Photo credit, Laker in Duluth Canal: Minnesota Extension Service, Don Breneman
Photo credit, Laurentian Great Lakes: NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
Video editing: Brian Heaton
In our previous post about the Lincoln Park Pedestrian Plan, we talk about the goal of making it a “walkable” neighborhood. And you might be asking (with good reason) what does “walkable” or “walkability,” mean, anyway?
Walkability is basically “planner-ese” for how easy and safe it is for a pedestrian to move through an area. And now you might ask, so what?
When a street is welcoming to walkers, a whole range of benefits to society appear. Be they health, environment, or social—getting people out of their cars and onto their feet does our community good. When everyday travel can be done on foot, people exercise without ever technically “working out.” With fewer cars on the road emitting toxic fumes, the whole community breathes cleaner air. And with more people out in the community chatting with each other, community bonds are strengthened.
Walking is, well, not always the easiest option in Duluth. Aside from the fact that the city is located on a giant hillside (some avenues gain as much as 700 ft of elevation), there are other problems. In some places the sidewalk network is obstructed by overgrown vegetation or missing sections. In other places there are roads that pedestrians frequently need to cross but lack crosswalks, signals, or signage at the intersections. Our freezing-cold winters and piles of snow don’t make it any easier, either.
The benefits are clear though, and well designed streets to can go a long way toward the city comfortable and safe for people on foot.
Personal safety and security is perhaps the greatest concern for most people as they consider walking over driving. Most people won’t walk in settings in which they feel a threat, real or perceived, to their personal well-being.
Heavy, speeding traffic and big, wide roads can create an environment that is downright hostile to pedestrians. That is why it is so important to have a pedestrian infrastructure such as a complete, well maintained sidewalk network and crosswalks.
An important tool that planners use to understand—and improve—the walkability of a neighborhood is called a walkability audit. This is an actual, physical walk through the neighborhood along a predetermined route. The planners carefully observe the street and evaluate what they see according to a set of criteria (Sidewalks? Crosswalks? Obstructions? Safety hazards?). Once these observations are noted, they are discussed and eventually serve as the basis for recommendations for how to improve walkability of the study area.
These recommendations will ultimately be included in the final pedestrian plan, which, like others, will be used by local government and community groups for how public improvements and private developments should be planned for from this point forward.
We’ll be conducting a walkability audit for the Lincoln Park Pedestrian Plan later this week. The hope is that if we can determine and encourage the best route up and down the hill, many more kids will be able to walk and bike to school and other popular destinations.
Check back soon to see the group’s findings.
photo credit: Ian Britton
It takes more thought than you might expect to move people safely from the top of the hill to the bottom and back again.
This summer the MIC and area non-profits have partnered to do a pedestrian study of the Lincoln Park Neighborhood of Duluth. The study will look at the way that people who walk and bike (especially school-aged children) move up and down the hill, with the aim of finding and encouraging the best possible route between the site of the New Lincoln Park Middle School and the Duluth Heritage Sports Center and the proposed Cross City trail.
It’s a short study, slated to be completed in just six weeks.
A diverse group of community groups, led by MIC Senior Planner James Gittemeier (pictured) and assembled by Cliff Knettel, Executive Director of NHS Duluth, all share the view that a well designed pedestrian plan benefits the entire neighborhood.
Other study participants include the Engineering department for the City of Duluth, Fit City Duluth, Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Duluth (LISC), and neighborhood volunteers.
Looking at maps and discussing best routes is one thing, but getting out there on the ground is another. Study committee members will perform a walkability audit of the paths most likely to be used by students.
Findings of the audit, along with its recommendations, will serve as the basis for the Lincoln Park Middle School Safe Routes to School grant application for the 2012 round of applications. Safe Routes to School is a federally funded program that promotes children walking and bicycling to school by funding targeted improvements to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in school areas. Duluth has received a number of these grants in the past.
Stay tuned for more information as this study moves forward.
You might have seen a wiry, long-haired fellow wandering the streets of Duluth staring intently down at his phone over the last few weeks. That guy is me, the MIC’s intern for this summer. And that phone is actually a GPS device called a Trimble Juno. I’m using it to record the condition of every section of sidewalk in the city. With my trusty GPS in hand (which I call Lil’ Julie) I walk slowly through the streets recording three different bits of information for the Duluth Sidewalk Inventory.
The first is the sidewalk condition rating. The options are Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. “Excellent” is basically for brand new sidewalks, immaculate and brilliant white. “Good” means that they don’t have any cracks and haven’t sunken or heaved. “Fair” means that there are cracks and vegetation growing up through those cracks. They generally have some sunken or tilted sections that leave small raised edges. “Poor” sidewalks are pretty rough. These have major surface defects—broken pavement, big holes and the like.
Curb RampsThe second criterion is the condition of the curb ramps. A curb ramp is that sloped portion of sidewalk on each corner. It allows disabled persons to transition from the street level to the sidewalk level and vice versa. These are rated along the same scale as the sidewalks. Some sidewalks don’t have curb ramps at all. In situations like that the sidewalks are almost entirely inaccessible to disabled persons.
The third thing that I do is note any obstructions in the sidewalk. These generally consist of raised edges greater than ¾” and overgrown vegetation; though sometimes I do spot obstructions like raised utility access panels or signs in the sidewalk.
It’s not an easy job (did you know there are over 400 miles of sidewalks in Duluth?), but it really is important information to collect. With this data the city can target its resources to the spots that are in greatest need of repair. Lots of people, young and old, able-bodied and disabled persons alike, depend on these sidewalks for their own personal mobility and freedom. It’s good to know that the MIC’s sidewalk inventory works toward improving that.
Follow my progress on the MIC’s Facebook page. I’ll be posting updates on my progress all summer and adding pictures in the Unhappy Sidewalks of Duluth photo album. Do you have some real gems in your neighborhood? Some epic branches blocking your morning run? We’re also looking to identify sidewalk segments—in any condition, good or bad—that are important because they’re so heavily used.
Take a picture and post it to our wall or email it to me.