Living Streets Lexington is a new organization of residents who envision a Lexington where streets are vibrant public places that bring people together and provide many safe and accessible transportation options. This has been a busy month for us — we just wrapped up Lexington’s second annual Week Without Driving challenge and are now gearing up to launch Lexington’s inaugural Transit Advocacy Academy in partnership with Lextran and Fayette Alliance. With the ongoing implementation of Lexington’s Complete Streets policy, and recommendations from the Urban County Council’s STREEET Safety Task Force being reported out this week, this is a great time to get involved with the work we’re doing.
Week Without Driving is a national initiative that draws attention to the fact that there are too many people across the country, including here in Lexington, who are locked out of full access to jobs, education, food, medical appointments, and enjoying all that their city has to offer because they don’t have a car or are otherwise unable to drive.
Many Lexingtonians are trapped in the opposite way, living in areas where driving is the only option to access daily necessities. Those of us who do drive should never take it for granted—as a gentle reminder, we are all one accident or medical emergency away from losing our physical ability to drive, and many of us are one financial crisis away from losing our car. Additionally, those of us who are fortunate enough to live long, full lives will outlive our ability to drive safely and comfortably by as much as a decade. Week Without Driving invites everyone to consider these questions: what kind of city do we want to be? And what kind of investments, policies, and priorities do we want to commit to moving forward?…