You Asked, We Answered: Top 5 Things to Know About Active Transportation

Feb 26

What is “active transportation”?

Active transportation is anything related to human-powered transportation, like biking, walking or scooting. Active transportation replaces motor vehicles, which also makes it a great way to conserve fuel, reduce vehicle emissions, and improve individual and public health. Bicycles, electric bikes, wheelchairs, scooters and walking are examples of active transportation.

Did you know that part of Bentonville Moves Coalition’s vision is to make Bentonville, Arkansas, the safest active transportation city in the Heartland by 2027?

Why is active transportation good for our community?

These are just two reasons why active transportation helps a community become more livable, not to mention safer and more attractive to visit and call home.

People are less likely to be injured in areas with calm traffic
Pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and children are less likely to be injured when communities and roads are built with ways to calm traffic. As more people feel safe enough to walk, bike or roll around, the risk of injury goes down. The more people use active transportation, the safer everyone will be.
Active transportation means kids move more and watch a screen less
When schools, homes and communities are surrounded by fast, busy roads, children are less likely to walk or bike to school and play outside. Additionally, children ages 8-12 in the United States spend on average 4-6 hours a day watching or using screens, and teens spend up to 9 hours, according to AACAP.

But when they have sidewalks and parks in their communities, children are more likely to be active and spend less time in front of a screen.

How does infrastructure support active transportation?

Active transportation requires a dedicated network of sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths, overpasses, crosswalks and bike racks to ensure people can get where they need to go safely and efficiently. Examples of these types of projects can be found on our progress map here.

Does better infrastructure make a mobility network?

Yes! Improved infrastructure allows cars and bicycles as well as pedestrians, wheelchair users and scooterists to get from point A to point B safely and with confidence knowing that they are traveling in the right lanes, at the right speed and in the right direction. Infrastructure is what makes a network, well, work!

How do we improve connectivity and accessibility with these infrastructure changes?

The Connecting Bentonville Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, which the city adopted in 2021, expresses Bentonville’s intention to provide greater access to alternative transportation modes by establishing guiding principles, facility types, proposed trail network and design standards. Two major principles of the plan are connectivity and accessibility.

Currently, in some areas of town where trails already exist, a bicyclist can only go a certain distance before having to finish their route among cars. Good infrastructure doesn’t leave bike riders, drivers or pedestrians to navigate incomplete connections that force everyone into unsafe and confusing situations. With the Master Plan, trails are being connected by a variety of means that provide a more complete route, where all destinations can be reached without gaps or missing links.

Accessibility standards address the needs of the whole population, concentrating on how someone on foot, with low vision or impaired mobility, for example, can navigate a trail and sidewalk system safely and easily.

Want to know more about promoting the benefits of active transportation in our community? Sign up for our email or give us a call, we’ll be happy to walk you through it.