Promoting a safe walking environment

IT'S AMAZING that Brian McGrory's Sept. 13 column, ''Walking in the Way," knocks WalkBoston for promoting a safe walking environment on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. McGrory might want to reference the Aug. 29 editorial, ''Sidewalk snafu," thanking WalkBoston for this very work.

The Greenway has six surface lanes for cars, with eight to 10 lanes underground -- a total of 16 to 18 lanes for cars. Now the developer of the InterContinental Hotel at 500 Atlantic Ave. plans two additional parking lanes blocking the public sidewalk along the Greenway. This is poor design, and the public should be objecting.

The Greenway represents billions of public investment dollars. WalkBoston worked for years with governmental and other groups to develop guidelines for a good Greenway walking environment, including a basic requirement for a continuous wide (15 feet 7 inches) sidewalk. It is the developer's responsibility to follow these guidelines, and the city and state must enforce them. WalkBoston has raised the red flag that the guidelines are being violated.

Boston is a great walking city, with a high percentage of trips made by pedestrians. In this time of obesity, high gas prices, and growing traffic gridlock, WalkBoston is working to move people on foot, in wheelchairs, and in cars through safe and cost-effective walking environments. We have no time, as McGrory suggests, to advocate for jaywalking.

LIZ LEVIN
President, WalkBoston, Boston