Girl Scouts hit the streets of Carson

Just how walkable is Carson City?

Almost 200 Girl Scouts hit Carson's streets in recent weeks, investigating the condition of the city's sidewalks, drivers' courtesy and how safe they felt walking in the city.

The data the girls collected will be used in an update of the city's pedestrian master plan.

"We know we have deficiencies in sidewalks and areas for sidewalks," Street Operations Manager John Flansberg said. "We needed to get an inventory of what we actually have."

The girls in several troops used a "walkability" checklist provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as well as maps provided by the city street department. The checklist asks about room to walk, ease of crossing streets, driver behavior and how the girls felt on the walk.

Troop No. 498 covered a section of West Carson City including Mountain Street last Wednesday .

The girls have become pedestrian traffic watchers. Suddenly, skinny sidewalks get noticed. Corner curbs with no handicap access ramps are culprits. Areas with no sidewalks or with damaged ones are checked off on their lists.

The girls begin to understand how hard it is to get around in a wheel chair if the sidewalks aren't accessible.

Troop leader Anne Macquarie kept the chattering crew on task. Why aren't there crosswalks here? What's wrong with this curb? Is that driveway safe?

Scouts Alicia Freeman, 11, and Kristin Charles, 11, noted the problem spots on the checklists. The group was out walking, but they were performing a community service, too.

"It feels like you're being generous," Scout London Snow, 11, said. "We're helping people walk better."

Scout Anna Macquarie, 11, said the project was like grading the city on its work.

"You learn to pay attention to what's happening more," Anna said. "If every place was nice, more people would walk."

"Once you do the survey, you notice when something is wrong, and then you notice when it's nice," Scout Meagan Carter, 10, said.

Girls from the Boys & Girls Club Troop No. 818 walked an area around Roop Street near the club. During their walk, they witnessed an accident in an area with no stop signs on intersecting streets. The traffic scared them sometimes.

"There was one place with really skinny sidewalks and you could only go one at a time," Scout Teresa Boyer, 9, said. "If you wanted to walk, it was too skinny and you stood in the street or in somebody's yard. They could call the police or you could get hit."

Troop No. 818 leader Diane Christensen said the walk made the girls more aware of their community and their surroundings.

"They learned, one, that there are a lot of places that aren't safe to walk," she said. "The had to walk in the streets, and some aren't safe. The other thing they learned is to discuss how the city could improve and also who's responsible to build sidewalks.

"The more we convince the girls to do service, the better of they'll be later in life. They learn it's important to be a part of their community."

Anne Macquarie got the Girl Scouts involved in the city's project.

"This was a good chance for them to do a service project that might make a change in the community," Macquarie said. "For each girl, there's a different opinion. It helps them find out about the built environment, and how they can have a part in making their community more livable."

The $39,100 pedestrian element update should be completed by the end of the year, Flansberg said. Getting a complete inventory of the city's sidewalks was the first step, though. The city sets aside about $100,000 to bring sidewalks up to American Disability Act Standards as well as helping people fix their sidewalks. He estimates the Girl Scouts helped canvas up to 80 miles of city sidewalks.

"It's a great help," Flansberg said. "One, it creates awareness for the girls. The real benefit is for them to be more aware of their surroundings. It lets the girls understand what we could be. But it also allows us to compile this information and saves us some time."