Norman as Pedestrian-Friendly Town

[Superhyper]

I don't know if some of you saw the article or not, but OKC was recently listed as one of the most pedestrian-unfriendly cities in the country. While I don't think this is surprising to most of us, I wonder what you all think of how Norman stacks up. I personally walk to class and work fairly often, but that's because I have the advantage of living near OU which is where I both work and take classes. What do you guys think we could do to make that possible for more people?

The article mentioned above: Cambridge, Mass., top city for walking - UPI.com

[kevinpate]

Been here about two decades now. I've walked a lot throughout downtown zand the campus area, and from campus in a few different directions. I've never considered Norman as unfriendly for pedestrians. On the flip side, if I had spotted the former pedestrian's who swiped a bike or three off my kiddos over the years, I woulda become quite unfrienddly quite rapidly.

[ultimatesooner]

I lived in a house off of Crawford between Main and Robinson one year in college and had a dead battery. I had a check to cash @ the Bancfirst on Main and Berry and coudn't get ahold of anyone to give me a ride or a jump so I walked to the bank and I found 2 $100 bills about 3 feet apart in the ditch on the way there so i would say Norman is the most pedestrian friendly town I have ever walked in

[micahalcorn]

I think that if we ever get the greenbelt we were promised, it will go a long way. I like to think of myself as a runner, but unless you are on campus property, there is quite a bit of traffic to navigate and few sidewalks on the main arteries. It appears that the city is adding some sidewalks, but I'm trying to figure out why there isn't a jogging trail.

[andy157]

I lived in a house off of Crawford between Main and Robinson one year in college and had a dead battery. I had a check to cash @ the Bancfirst on Main and Berry and coudn't get ahold of anyone to give me a ride or a jump so I walked to the bank and I found 2 $100 bills about 3 feet apart in the ditch on the way there so i would say Norman is the most pedestrian friendly town I have ever walked in

I was wondering where I lost those.

[DVDFreaker]

I lived in a house off of Crawford between Main and Robinson one year in college and had a dead battery. I had a check to cash @ the Bancfirst on Main and Berry and coudn't get ahold of anyone to give me a ride or a jump so I walked to the bank and I found 2 $100 bills about 3 feet apart in the ditch on the way there so i would say Norman is the most pedestrian friendly town I have ever walked in

So what did you do with the $200 bucks?

[Pete]

I was just there last weekend and told my good friend that if I ever retired to Oklahoma it would be to Norman, specifically to the area just west of the main part of campus.

Why? Because you can walk to Campus Corner and the entire university. Plus there is plenty of recreation sports in terms of tennis, parks, soccer fields, etc. And the neighborhoods in that area have great older homes and tons of tree and sidewalk lined streets.

It's really one of the very few places in the Metro where you can walk anywhere worthwhile and that's exactly why I'd choose it.

[ultimatesooner]

So what did you do with the $200 bucks?

I was in college so it most likely went to women and beer

[Bob&Frank&Ted&Bob&Alice]

I was just there last weekend and told my good friend that if I ever retired to Oklahoma it would be to Norman, specifically to the area just west of the main part of campus.

Why? Because you can walk to Campus Corner and the entire university. Plus there is plenty of recreation sports in terms of tennis, parks, soccer fields, etc. And the neighborhoods in that area have great older homes and tons of tree and sidewalk lined streets.

It's really one of the very few places in the Metro where you can walk anywhere worthwhile and that's exactly why I'd choose it.

Kind of hard walking down Boyd, between Chautauqua and Berry.

[Pete]

Yes, but very easy to walk through the surrounding neighborhoods without having to go up to Boyd until you get to CC.

I used to live in that 'hood during school and absolutely loved it and rarely used my car. I'd love to see them add a small grocery to the area, then it would offer everything you need.

[Bob&Frank&Ted&Bob&Alice]

They had a small grocery store.

[Platemaker]

With parks per square mile as one of the criteria in that study, it's no wonder OKC ranked last. ANY study with a "per square mile" category is going to to catapult OKC to the bottom.

[Dekoung]

Midway Market on Chautauqua and Eufaula is not a small grocery store but more of a convenience store but they make great sandwiches and cookies, muffins,etc and there is a small meat counter. Midway is like a neighborhood gathering place.

We live west of campus and I walk and ride my bike everywhere. Yes, it is difficult to walk on some street stretches but as a previous poster said, one can get where one wants to go by walking through neighborhoods.

[BG918]

I think that if we ever get the greenbelt we were promised, it will go a long way. I like to think of myself as a runner, but unless you are on campus property, there is quite a bit of traffic to navigate and few sidewalks on the main arteries. It appears that the city is adding some sidewalks, but I'm trying to figure out why there isn't a jogging trail.

The Legacy Trail along the tracks through downtown is a jogging/biking trail. There are future plans to bring it south to OU by the Duck Pond and north to Tecumseh Rd. It would be cool to see it one day connecting Norman to Moore and then OKC so you could theoretically ride your bike 20 miles from downtown Norman to downtown OKC on a continuous trail.