Thank you for this article. Walkability is a good goal to have, but our community may not yet have the institutional knowledge needed in local governments to effectuate it (although I'm optimistic things will improve). For example, the terms "urban village" and "walkability" have become catch phrases used by developers to get approval for what end up being car-centric developments. Briggs is an example of what was supposed to be an urban village, but ten years on, they still have no grocery store. Developers (Bar Holdings) are at this moment proposing a similar development that they claim will be a walkable urban village on the corner of Old Highway 99 and 93rd Ave south of the airport. Some local elected officials have been swayed by their promises of walkability. But if you are familiar with that location, you will know that it is anything but walkable now and will not become walkable regardless of what kinds of sidewalks you put there. People are not inclined to walk on arterial roads. They are not pleasant places to walk or bike for the vast majority of residents. For example, I was a daily bike commuter on Yelm Highway for years and can attest to the fact that it was only me and one other guy who rode our bikes there regularly. Everyone else drove. For this reason, we need to be alert to the co-opting of the terms "walkability" and "urban village." We need to make sure elected officials maintain a healthy skepticism in that regard. This article is a good step in that direction.
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