“Walkability Just Isn’t Thought About Seriously” and Other Insights From Civil Engineer Chris Miller
On August 25, 2023, Tennessee and North Carolina licensed civil engineer and soon-to-be bike dad Chris Miller joined Strong Towns for the eighth Crash Analysis Studio. The session’s focus was a fatal crash in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Miller currently lives and works as an engineering consultant doing transit and railroad design.
When Miller interned for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the disconnect between what was being taught in engineering school and what he experienced firsthand as a cyclist (in Chattanooga, Miller biked everywhere) and safety analyst became impossible to ignore. Now in Charlotte, Miller feels not only more fulfilled in his new role, but exercises his values with Charlotte Urbanists, an advocacy group whose “mission is to work to make Charlotte a better city by advocating for sustainable, sensible, and equitable urban practices and policies.”
What stood out to you about the site of the crash?
The first time I looked over the site, my reaction was that there is nothing special about it. Compared to some of the other sessions—say, in Maryland or Richmond, where the crash took place near a Metro station—this was a very normal suburban corridor. It was almost banal.
However, in this area, you are crossing approximately six lanes of active traffic with no immediate refuge. It’s completed by this awkward bike lane and an unprotected—albeit painted—curb extension by the intersection. No matter how you look at it, it’s an impossible distance to cross, especially when you consider how little time you legally have to cross it.
Something the nominator of the crash (a friend of the person fatally struck) did was estimate why someone might cross the street. Normally, I stay away from these sorts of deductions because they can easily inch toward victim blaming, but in this case understanding why someone would do what they did gave an important insight into the crash site, itself.
He pointed out that the person was trying to catch the bus. This is a bus that comes once an hour. Think about it: you've got 30 seconds to run across six lanes to catch a bus that comes every hour. If you see the bus approaching, you have one opportunity to catch it because if you miss this bus, you’re pretty much screwed. This is the type of risk that’s set up by design.
“Think about it: you’ve got 30 seconds to run across six lanes to catch a bus that comes every hour. ... This is the type of risk that’s set up by design.”
What do you see as a challenge to the built environment today?
Walkability just isn’t thought about seriously. We see walkability as something for downtowns, or in the case of Charlotte, uptown. Even then, it’s taken seriously on a handful of intersections and corridors. As soon as you go outside of that, it’s gone.
“Walkability just isn’t thought about seriously.”
Walking to the grocery store should be easy and natural wherever you are, yet it’s not. Our commitment to walkability is a bit messy, too: there are many neighborhoods that are welcoming four- or five-story apartment buildings, but the roads that they're on haven’t changed much. As a result, you’ve got “walkable” buildings in an auto-centric environment which can make for very dangerous streets.
Conversely, what are you seeing that gives you hope, especially in Charlotte?
Charlotte is, of course, like most cities in the Sun Belt, a fast-growing city. Unlike Sun Belt cities, however, Charlotte is least trying to change in a better direction. The city recently adopted a new UDO [unified development ordinance] and then there are investments from both state and the city to bolster intercity rail, bus, and bike networks. Of course, sometimes that funding isn’t totally secure but it’s still refreshing to see, especially compared to other cities I’ve lived in.
Nashville and Chattanooga—both places I lived in before coming to Charlotte—had good neighborhoods that were walkable and bikeable. In fact, when I was in Chattanooga, I rarely used my car because I was able to bike around, but I know that that is a minority position in the city like that. But here, it’s easy for my wife and I to be a one-car household.
Another thing in Charlotte that gives me hope is how active and involved Charlotte Urbanists is, which is the group that nominated the crash [for the Crash Analysis Studio]. Among other things, they host a monthly Critical Mass bike ride and what’s cool about that ride is that you see all types of riders. We routinely see two or three families who will have parents biking together, sometimes on long-tail cargo bikes with the kids sitting in the back.
How influential would you say Charlotte Urbanists has been in the city?
I’d say our biggest physical impact has been the benches for bus stops initiative. We volunteer to buy materials, assemble them, and drive out to bus stops that don’t have any benches and simply place them there. It’s a relatively easy intervention that makes using the bus system a little less frustrating.
We’re even coordinating with CATS [Charlotte Area Transit System] now, which is huge. The collaboration is minimal, but it’s there. Otherwise, the group has become an active voice in city hall and as much as I think having a foot in the door with local leaders is important, the physical interventions, like the benches, are ultimately our most immediately impactful.
Asia (pronounced “ah-sha”) Mieleszko serves as a Staff Writer for Strong Towns. A dilettante urbanist since adolescence, she's excited to convert a lifetime of ad-hoc volunteerism into a career. Her unconventional background includes directing a Ukrainian folk choir, pioneering synaesthetic performances, photographing festivals, designing websites, teaching, and ghostwriting. She can be found wherever Wi-Fi is reliable, typically along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.