Iowans should drive transportation plans

By The Des Moines Register

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Cities are shaped by many forces, including decisions by zoning boards, city councils and real-estate developers. Those decisions are ultimately influenced by the choices people make about where to live, work and spend their leisure time. A well-planned city gives people many options.

For many years in Greater Des Moines, as in most Midwestern cities, people have had few choices about how they get about. Use of public transportation has steadily declined over the decades, and driving is an increasing necessity to navigate the ever-expanding, urbanized central Iowa region. Jobs are often far from homes, along with shopping, dining and entertainment scattered around the eight-county region.

This is a major disadvantage for people who can't afford to own a car, or who for health reasons cannot drive. As Iowa's population ages, this will become a more important issue. And, we should all have more transportation options - whether ride-sharing, taking the bus, walking, biking or skating - for our health and the good of the Earth.

Des Moines will not shrink in size, and dependence on the automobile is not going away anytime soon. But decisions by cities and developers can give people more inviting ways to travel. Even small changes can be meaningful: Painting bike-lane stripes on city streets; providing safe access for motorized scooters and golf carts for the elderly; building and maintaining sidewalks and pedestrian-friendly street crossings.

On a larger scale, retail centers should be pulled closer to sidewalks so it's easier to walk to stores. New residential-commercial developments should copy the concept of the courthouse square that makes hundreds of Iowa's small towns so livable and less car dependent.

Some of these changes are already happening. Ankeny, Des Moines' neighbor to the north, is building a new community within the community called Prairie Trail that takes design cues from the classic town square and venerable residential neighborhoods in Des Moines. West Des Moines' West Glen development was designed to accommodate strollers, not drive-by shoppers. Des Moines' recently updated Merle Hay Mall includes a bus stop and shelter near the main entrance.

Legislative acts can have a major impact that might escape our notice: The Americans with Disabilities Act, for example, has resulted in a huge number of small changes, such as no-edge curb cuts at intersections for pedestrians.

Public sentiment has a powerful influence on these laws, policies and community planning decisions. Not just by people choosing where to live and how they want to live, but by people getting engaged in the planning process in their cities. And by getting engaged early in that process when change is possible.

Cities belong to their residents: Let your voice be heard, and make it known what sort of city you want for yourself and for future generations.