Monday, July 22, 2002
The Roanoke Times
By SAM LaGRONE

"People who walk say their quality of life is better"
Many Lexington workers live in a walk-a-day world
Lexington's sidewalks and streetlights have helped create a city friendly to pedestrians.

   LEXINGTON - There's no congestion on Melissa Cox's way to work. No maniacal cloverleaf exits. No rubbernecking delays, road rage or zany morning disc jockeys.
    Cox can hear chirping cardinals, look into store windows and smell fresh-brewed coffee coming from a shop as her feet ply the brick sidewalks of downtown.
    The biggest downside of her commute might be wearing out a little shoe leather.
    Cox walks to her job at Washington and Lee University, enjoying the scenery and people she meets on the way. "It gets my blood moving," she said. "When you get to work, you're ready to go." NATALEE WATERS/ THE ROANOKE TIMES
Melissa Cox (left) and Adrienne Hall-Bodie walk through the Washington and Lee University campus Wednesday morning. Cox, a university employee, walk to work instead of using her car.
    In minutes, she skirts the historic downtown to the wide, shady lawns of the W&L campus, where she is a secretary in the journalism department.
    Cox is not alone in choosing a bipedal commute. According to the 2000 census, one out of four workers in the sleepy, two-college city takes the sidewalk to and from work, the highest percentage for a city or county in Virginia. Their No. 1 destination is downtown Lexington. Bicyclists aren't included in the data.
    Charlottesville posted a 16.5 percent walk-to-work rate, behind Lexington's 26 percent. Roanoke's rate was 1.8 percent.
    Lexington, a city of just under 7,000 people, also posted the state's shortest commute at 10.5 minutes. The longest commute to work was posted by Mathews County, at 45.8 minutes. Roanokers averaged 19.3 minutes.
    While commuting time is rising across the state, Lexington is one of the few Virginia cities in which workers have shortened their commutes since 1990. No counties did.
    Most of the walking commuters come from a residential area on Lexington's southwest side. They follow wide sidewalks fronting specialty shops and older homes, their way lighted by streetlights. The residential area dovetails into downtown, where the campuses of W&L and Virginia Military Institute are located.
    Lexington's sidewalks, streetlights and traffic patterns have helped create a pedestrian-friendly city, said Mark Fenton, a walking expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a national pedestrian advocate. He said cities nationwide have tried to raise what he calls their "walkability ratings" because of health, safety and environmental benefits.
    Fenton hasn't rated Lexington, but he said he is familiar with similar communities.
    The benefits? "It can slow traffic speeds. There's better air quality," he said. "People who walk say their quality of life is better. The folks of Lexington are probably healthier by the fact they commute that way."
    Downtown Lexington was designed for pedestrians and horse-drawn transportation.
    Parking is limited. Most spots on the street carry a two-hour parking limit during business hours to allow more room for visitors exploring the sights, said Don Hasfurther, executive director of the Lexington Downtown Development Association.
    A lack of long-term street parking forces downtown employees to park in 12-hour lots on the edge of downtown. For Brenda Perry, having to park is not worth the effort, so she walks.
    "It takes me two minutes to walk to work," said the coordinator at the Rockbridge Area Social Services office. "Three if the weather is bad."
    Carrie Couch said she wouldn't drive even if she had a car , given the parking situation. She's been enamored of Lexington since moving there four years ago from Norfolk. She works at Lexington Coffee Roasting Co.