by MARY ELIZABETH ROBERTSON
Intern News Reporter

At 1,300 acres, Appalachian State University is known to be a walker-friendly school, giving students the benefit of quickly and conveniently leaving their dorms at 7:45 a.m. and arriving to their class at 8 a.m.

At 2,110 acres, the campus of North Carolina State University envelops North Carolina’s capitol. This makes it difficult for students to walk to their 8 a.m. class in just 15 minutes.

The benefits of walking around campus and in Boone may be taken for granted.

“I walk around eight to 10 miles per week, which probably comes out to be around two and a half to three hours of walking,” senior criminal justice major Andrew T. Doss said.

Doss said he considers walking his major form of transportation, and feels more pedestrian-friendly methods around Boone could help student safety.

“Additional crosswalks would benefit everyone and will keep individuals safer when crossing the road,” he said.

Boone Mayor Pro-Tem Lynne Mason offered solutions to these problems.

After recognizing Boone’s lack of pedestrian options, Mason submitted the “Walk Boone” initiative to the Boone Town Council.   

“[Walk Boone] is an initiative to make Boone a town that is walker-friendly, whether you’re looking at it as an answer to transportation issues or transportation and traffic issues, environmental issues and health benefits from walking,” she said. “We want to make Boone a walker-friendly environment.”

The main focus of Walk Boone is to promote safety and activity among pedestrians.

Mason believes a pedestrian-friendly Boone will benefit the health and safety of people and the environment.

“…If the infrastructure was better, students may view walking as a viable way to get to campus instead of driving,” Mason said. 

Some students worry about the ability to safely arrive to their destinations.

Freshmen art major Emily P. Brunton found walking to off-campus destinations hazardous.

“It’s ridiculous when you want to go to Cookout [Restaurant],” she said. “We would go to more off-campus places if it was safer to walk.”

Freshman journalism major Molly R. Scott echoed Brunton’s sentiments.

“I have a friend that got hit by a car,” she said. “Boone’s dangerous.”

Brunton and Scott felt areas along N.C. Highway 105 and U.S. Highway 321 could benefit from more crosswalks.

“We are hoping to have the town council adopt a master sidewalk plan… the sidewalk project helps to foster a community that is pedestrian-friendly where pedestrians know pedestrian laws and motorists know pedestrian laws,” she said.

The Boone Town Council has made many efforts to spread pedestrian education.

With the continued development of the master sidewalk plan, maps will be distributed to prominent locations throughout Boone with crosswalk locations and destinations in town.

These maps will also include elapsed time for the average walker.

Mason hopes the continued information on Walk Boone will encourage the community to utilize their feet as their main mode of transportation.

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