In large areas of Danville, in the poorest neighborhoods, up to 50% of households don’t have reliable access to a car.
City of Danville GIS data
In Danville’s poorest neighborhoods over 50% of households lack any access to a car. This makes getting to work, school, medical appointments – just living life in general – difficult. Sometimes, maybe even impossible. This is the everyday reality for a shocking number of our residents.
Lack of ability to move around freely, without use of motorized private or public transport, impacts employment, childcare, health service, and other such opportunities. It creates an environment where those afflicted with poverty are locked in close proximity to one another, creating de facto segregated neighborhoods that often fall along racial lines.
Poor folks surrounded by other poor folks, with no way out, creates tough choices and sometimes desperate situations. It correlates to increased criminal activity and other social ills. This spawns a whole cycle where property values become depressed because of poor or unsafe living conditions, abandonment and blight take root, and pretty soon you have whole blocks that end up looking like war zones or urban forests, depending on the situation. Does any of this sound familiar?
However, in Danville, we know this isolated and unsafe situation doesn’t prevent folks from trying to safely move around. There are plenty of people who use our aging, often crumbling, sidewalks to walk or bike to the places they need to go. This is often unsafe for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Without safe crossings, pedestrians cross busy roads anywhere that makes sens. Even if it’s unsafe. With aging, debris covered sidewalks, pedestrians and cyclists often enter the roadway unexpectedly. Accidents do and will continue to happen unless this situation is addressed. Luckily, there have been no major catastrophes. Yet.
With dedicated pedestrian trail infrastructure, these people would no longer have to risk safety for themselves or others by being in close proximity to vehicular traffic.
Pedestrian Infrastructure Increases Mobility and Builds Social Capital, Equity, and Trust
The time for action is now. Giving our time, resources, and support for a deeper, more equitable, community is one way each of us can live up to John Harrison’s ideal that, “Every man should share of his good fortune with the town that gave him his opportunity.”
VCTA strives to engage marginalized and non-traditional riders and trail users of all sorts, abilities, and disciplines, while also seeking to expand services for existing user groups. Everyone matters, obviously, but as with most things, the lack of trails and outdoor recreation opportunities impacts the poor most heavily.