Pedestrian deaths are becoming an epidemic in Anchorage, but it doesn't have to be this way. Over the past few months, Alaska Dispatch News has published several accounts of pedestrian deaths occurring on sidewalks, outside crosswalks, during the day and late at night. An article from September 20, 2014 about the death of Guy Merculief notes that "Merculief's death (was) the third pedestrian fatality in Anchorage in less than two weeks." It's now December and we've had more pedestrian deaths since then.
One of the latest pedestrian tragedies was Chris Thompson. I knew Chris. He was one of the first people I met when I moved from Brooklyn, New York, to the small Brooks Range town of Bettles. Chris grew up in Bettles and left the state for college. Chris had just moved to Anchorage within the last year to pursue professional work. He was the pride of Bettles.
Since June I have been co-organizing pedestrian outings around town. First in Fairview, then Spenard, Government Hill -- and now every Thursday we meet in Town Square Park in downtown Anchorage and walk for an hour as part of our "Winter Walk" series.
These walks have occurred under the guise (and thankful funding) of the city's centennial, as a way to get a bit of exercise and as a kind-of meet-up group or social outing. But for me, these walks always have been and will continue to be political. These walks are a way to protest how our city's streets are designed and used. Study after study shows relatively inexpensive design fixes, like widening sidewalks and narrowing traffic lanes, lead to a traffic calming environment. An amazing thing happens when drivers are surrounded by pedestrians -- cars slow down and fewer accidents occur. The driver's behavioral change is influenced by the environment "telling" him or her to slow down. This is environmental psychology 101.
Thursday nights when we walk with a large group are some of the few times in Anchorage that I feel safe as a pedestrian -- that I have the right to the city streets as much as cars do. The drivers on the nearby roadways notice our group and slow down a bit. Perhaps it's because they wonder what a group of 30 people are doing walking around town together in the cold, but I'd like to believe the drivers slow down because our walks are working and we have become a mobile traffic-calming entity.
Our city is never going to be a great place to "Live.Work.Play" if it remains somewhere people can't safely walk from place to place no matter the time of day or weather. Pedestrian culture is integral to a vibrant city and it's the responsibility of our city to design our city streets in a way that supports pedestrians just as much (if not more) as drivers.
Until then, we'll keep walking and keep in our thoughts those who can no longer join us.
Bree Kessler is an assistant professor of health sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage. "Winter Walks," free and open to the public, will resume at 6 p.m. Jan. 8 from Town Square Park in downtown Anchorage.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.