There are plenty of big, expensive ways Northampton could improve non-car mobility around town. For example, bringing back the Northampton Street Railway that shuttled people up and down Main Street as well as into Leeds, Florence, and beyond would be a magical and tourist-drawing (not to mention eco-friendly) addition to the city! But, there are also myriad small, low-cost ways life can be made easier and safer for walkers, rollers, and bikers.
Start with our central intersection at Main & Pleasant/King: 1) Extend the walk light. Even for someone who’s always accused of walking too fast, I rarely make it diagonally on the “go” light. 2) Paint the diagonal. It’s not obvious to out-of-towners that they can cross both streets at once (if they’re quick about it, that is). This could be both functional and beautiful. 3) Alternate the right-of-way between pedestrians and cars, instead of giving it to cars in both directions, then pedestrians.
The Week Without Driving (Sept. 29 to Oct. 5) aims to highlight all kinds of ways we can reduce barriers to non-car transportation in Northampton, both big and small. It’s a national campaign by America Walks, and you can get more info and sign up to participate locally at https://tinyurl.com/wwod2025.
Nora Brown
Northampton