Downtown 'walkability' luncheon set
An expert on "walkable communities" will speak to a luncheon gathering here Friday, Jan. 19 at 261 Dauphin St.
Dan Burden will conduct an audit of the 'walkability' of downtown Mobile and will present an overview of the importance of creating pedestrian-friendly communities. Downtown Mobile Alliance, Envision Coastal Alabama and the city of Mobile are sponsoring Burden's appearance.
The program will begin at noon. Cost of the lunch is $5 per person. Space is limited, so make reservations by calling Angela at 434-8498.
Burden is a nationally recognized authority on bicycle and pedestrian facilities and programs, street corridor and intersection design, traffic flow and calming, and other design and planning elements that affect roadway environments. He has had 25 years of experience in developing, promoting and evaluating alternative transportation facilities, traffic calming practices and sustainable community design. He served for 16 years as Florida DOT’s State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, and he presently works as a Senior Urban Designer for Glatting Jackson, an Orlando-based firm partnered with Walkable Communities.
There are few people in the country who know more about traffic calming practices, access management, intersection design and other strategies for creating pedestrian and bicycle friendly communities than Dan Burden. He has taught bicycle and pedestrian facility design courses in hundreds of different communities throughout the nation.
Burden has personally photographed and examined walking and bicycling conditions in over 200 cities in the U.S. and abroad. He worked as a bicycle consultant in China for the United Nations in 1994, and he has been to Australia and many European countries to photograph their great cities. His pictures have been published in the New York Times, National Geographic, Better Homes and Gardens, Sierra Club calendars and Weekly Reader. Presentations are always richly illustrated with examples from near and far. Burden is currently part of a team collecting (videotaping) and analyzing traffic calming and innovative pedestrian facilities throughout the U.S.
Burden served as the principal writer for the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning and Design Curriculum, being introduced at many universities. His insights are becoming a model for college courses in civil engineering and urban planning departments throughout the country. He serves as one of the main course instructors for the NHI (National Highway Institute) course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Design. Dan has given staff training to traffic engineers, planners and community redevelopers across the country.
Burden’s has assisted business and community leaders in their quest to create streets, activity centers, business districts and neighborhoods for people. He brings a message about creating community for people, not just cars. His highly visual, information rich workshops, with National Geographic slides, showcase ways to plan and design better streets, town centers, and neighborhoods.
