Committee debates one‑mile standard and whether greenways reach neighborhoods that need them most

Committee members pushed back on the plan’s use of a one‑mile access standard, saying the metric can overstate who can realistically use greenways if connectivity, safe crossings and sidewalk networks are missing. One member argued neighborhoods that most need access often face barriers that make a one‑mile radius functionally meaningless.

Daniel Sawyers said planners chose a one‑mile standard because it yields useful data across modes (walking, biking, driving) and is easy for residents to understand, while acknowledging tradeoffs between modes and places. He and other members recommended pairing the access metric with targeted investments in trailheads, connectivity improvements and colocation of amenities to ensure that the people counted as 'within a mile' can actually reach and use the greenways.