Walkable College Station

The citizens of College Station have made it clear that we want a more walkable city. There are a lot of things that we can do to achieve this. But it is not going to come without pressure from citizens. Here are a few things that we might want to push for.
Graduated Impact Fees
Impact fees help insure that new development pays for itself. This helps avoid having tax payers subsidize private business ventures such as new development. Impact fees help keep our taxes low. Graduated Impact fees scale the cost of these fees based on the distance that the development is from the center of town. This encourages infill development and dense urbanization. It is this sort of compact development that encourages a higher rate of pedestrian traffic.

Limit Retail Size
Limit the size of retail space that is allowed to be built. Big boxes with their sea of concrete parking lots wreck havoc on the urban landscape. They take out large swaths of land blocking all kinds of traffic, including pedestrian traffic. Big Boxes are regional retailers; as such they draw traffic from a greater area. This traffic causes congestion and further erodes the pedestrian option. Of course there are many other deleterious effects that these behemoth businesses have and a community.

Ban Drive Up Windows
Drive up windows cause cars to circulate in areas that might otherwise become pedestrian areas. They restrict pedestrian access and expand auto dependency, which increases congestion. Also cars idling in line contribute to an increase in production of greenhouse gasses and other noxious pollutions. Not to mention that many drive up windows are dispensing fattening foods high in cholesterol. Walkable cities can cut down on rates of obesity and heart disease.

Here is a list of other good ideas for making our city more walkable.