We all want a safer community.  Walk It! Bike It! Lewisburg has lots of ideas and requests to make of others -- whether that's the powers that be or visitors to the area -- but what can we do?  What should we be asking of ourselves?  What can we be doing right this minute?  A walkable town depends both on pedestrians being present and visible and exercising their rights, and also on recognizing drivers as a critical part of the same community.  Walk It! Bike It! Lewisburg suggests that we can all Walk the Walk and Drive the Drive right now!  Here are some suggestions for downtown road etiquette (we also are developing a complementary info sheet for what to do on country roads):

• As a pedestrian --
  • Be aware of your rights.  PennDOT provides some suggestions here (though they renovate their pages frequently so we apologize if the link is old).  And we have compiled this one page info sheet on crosswalks:   CrosswalkFAQsheet4_12_17.  At its most crystalline it boils down to two simple rules:  1) At locations with traffic lights, pedestrians must obey traffic control signals, and 2) At locations without traffic lights, vehicles must yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.  (With the usual caveat to always practice defensive driving and defensive walking -- recognize that others may not know or follow the law.)
  • Thank or otherwise acknowledge drivers who yield to you at unsignalized crosswalks.
  • Consider carrying a bright handkerchief to enhance your visibility.  (There are some bright yellow ones available from Lewisburg Neighborhoods now, and we are considering getting them printed with "Walk It! Bike It! Lewisburg" on one side and possibly "Thank You for Yielding" on the other.)
• As a driver –
  • Embrace driving on Market (many tend to avoid it!) and, when you do drive there, show how it should be done.  Drive so that you are able to yield.  This means driving slowly, alertly, intentionally, and with enough following distance, even at slow speeds (and especially behind trucks), to be able to yield to the waiting pedestrian in the crosswalk that the car(s) in front of you ignored.
  • Make a point of driving 25 mph (or less) as you enter the community (ours or any other for that matter).  When you cross the bridge from Montandon or come in on River Road north of town or cross the railroad tracks south of town...  Drive sedately on all of River Road south and north of town.  As you drive, consider what the speed limit on Market St west of 15 should be:  30 mph?  25 mph?
  • Learn about the Twenty Is Plenty concept and campaign.  While the speed limit is 25 mph in town and is difficult to make lower because of PA motor vehicle code, that’s an upper limit and drivers need to realize that it’s possible to go slower.  And so much safer!
  • Remember to do all of this even -- or perhaps especially -- when you're in a rush.  You won't really gain appreciable time racing from stop sign to stop sign or light to light.  We need to remember to respect others even when it's asking a little more of us.
• As a resident –
  • Whenever possible, walk or bike to your destination.  Each time, it's one less car on the road.
  • Share this information with your friends and acquaintances.
  • Help out with traffic and yield counts at various intersections.
  • Promote Walk It! Bike It! Fridays -- to school, to work, what are your current options?  We're still figuring out what this means exactly, but that shouldn't stop you from giving it a go...
  • Educate yourself.  Immerse yourself really.  Find out about and follow/keep up with this list of relevant walkable/bikeable community promoting groups.  In some cases these are more specific to locales or projects that make their website less universally interesting, but even in those cases, their facebook feeds are on point:
    • 8 80 Cities
    • Active Towns also on facebook
    • Better Block Foundation
    • CityLab
    • HUB Cycling also on facebook
    • League of American Bicyclists
    • Main Street America
    • Momentum Mag
    • National Complete Streets Coalition
    • Open Streets Project
    • PARK(ing) Day
    • Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
    • People for Bikes
    • Planetizen
    • Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
    • Smart Cities Dive
    • Smart Growth America
    • Streetsblog
    • Streetsblog USA
    • Strong Towns
    • Tactical Urbanism Guide also on facebook
    • The Walkable and Livable Communities Institute
    • Walk Score
  • What are your favorite sources?  That is a long list of organizations.  Help us prioritize.

We now have a printable pdf of this information, condensed and compiled for sharing:  WalkTheWalkSheet4_12_17

Beyond this list, probably the biggest thing you could do would be to participate on the Walk It! Bike It! Lewisburg committee.  The committee meets on the first Friday of the month at 8am at the Borough Building (55 S 5th St, Lewisburg).  Call 570-523-0114 or email active@LewisburgNeighborhoods.org to confirm in any given month.

But what do you think?  What else should be on this list?  Share your list of livable community hacks.  What are your secrets as a "resident expert"?