Are We Smarter Than a Third Grader? On Livable Streets, Maybe Not.

The inspiring and, in a way, infuriating story of Elli Giammona popped up on the Streetsblog Network over the weekend.

MT.jpgLivable streets prodigy Elli Giammona. Photo: The Missoulian

Elli is a 9-year-old in Missoula, Montana who a couple of years ago began to question why she couldn’t bike to school.
When her mother explained that it wasn’t safe because the road leading
from their home to Hellgate Elementary — a typical suburban arterial,
from the looks of it — didn’t have a sidewalk, Elli took action.

With encouragement from her mom and the help of her younger sister and older brother, she petitioned Missoula County, gathering signatures and composing a letter explaining the benefits of a walkable Mullan Road. The Missoulian reports:

The letter is dated Jan. 14, 2009, around the time [county public works director Greg] Robertson was
looking for a project eligible for American Reinvestment and
Recovery Act dollars. Criteria? A quick turnaround, a project in
the urban area, and one uncomplicated by problems like right-of-way
negotiations and extra environmental reviews.

"Honestly, I didn’t have any other projects for consideration at
the time that would have met the criteria," he said.

Long story short: A new trail is expected to be finished in time for Elli to ride it to school next fall.

Not only has Elli made it safer for herself and her neighbors to ride a bike or take a walk, she’s also made plain how completely the stars must align for something as simple as a car-free ribbon of asphalt to become reality. (Even now, the planned Missoula trail won’t connect with the school because of right-of-way costs.) Just a few decades ago a kid riding or walking to school would be considered the epitome of American wholesomeness. Now it’s a symptom of child neglect, in part because of infrastructure so obviously inhospitable that even a 7-year-old gets it.

Maybe, above all, Elli Giammona and her family have given us hope for a future in which full-grown adults get it too. One where it won’t take an act of Congress to get a child to school safely.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Community Benefits Agreements: What Do They Mean for Livable Streets?

By Noah Kazis |
A rendering of the CBA-mandated walkable development slated for the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. Image: UrbanWorks Architecture. Last week, Comptroller John Liu announced plans to convene a task force to study and issue recommendations about community benefits agreements in New York. While details on the task force are still forthcoming, the renewed public attention on […]

Eyes on the Street: Livable Streets a Mile High

By Noah Kazis |
A little end-of-day action from the Streetsblog Flickr pool, courtesy of BeyondDC: Here’s Denver’s 16th Street Shuttle, also called the MallRide. Check out those three low-floor doors for easy-on, easy-off boarding and alighting. The MallRide travels up and down a mile-long pedestrian mall — the only vehicle allowed there — arriving every 90 seconds. It’s […]

Talking Sense About Red Light Cameras in Connecticut

By Lily Bernheimer |
Your partner won’t catch you with your lover in a red light camera photo from this distance. A Connecticut campaign for red light cameras offers a reality-based counterpoint to the growing backlash against automated enforcement. The CT Livable Streets Campaign worked hard throughout 2009 on legislation allowing municipalities to implement automated red light camera enforcement […]

Participatory Budgeting: Your Chance to Vote for Livable Streets

By Stephen Miller |
A record 24 City Council members have launched participatory budgeting efforts this year, giving local residents a say in how to spend a share of the council’s discretionary capital funds. Starting last fall, volunteers and staff spent months refining proposals and suggestions. Council members are now releasing sample ballots so the public can learn more about the projects before […]