Adding amenities such as public restrooms and shade trees can make greenways like Detroit’s Joe Louis Greenway more inviting and comfortable for their users.
What steps could cities take to make multi-use greenways more user-friendly? According to Boston University lecturer Anne Lusk, adding amenities like restrooms, benches, and playgrounds can make greenways more inviting and comfortable for families and seniors, among others.
In a piece for Time, Micheline Maynard outlines Lusk’s research, which focuses on greenways and how people use them. In many cases, greenway projects are located along formerly industrial corridors with few existing shade trees. “Lusk says she would also like to see cities build more protected bike lanes on their streets leading to greenways, turning them into seamless transportation systems.”
These steps would help integrate greenways into the broader mobility options a city offers and make them a viable, functional part of the transportation network.
FULL STORY: Greenways Are Reviving American Cities. Some Say They Could Be Improved
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