In this episode of the local program Making Democracy Work, Lynn Schirk speaks with returning guest Dr. Kevin Evans, professor of Geography, Geology and Planning at Missouri State University. Evans continues his discussion on the importance of advocacy and civic engagement.
Schirk: Today, we'll be talking with one person about how democracy plays out in their life. Welcome, Dr. Evans. Is there anything that you've not been able to keep silent about in relation to your community?
Evans: I'm always involved with like zoning and planning and things like that. So, when I see plans proposed that will have a negative impact on my neighborhood, I'm always pretty outspoken about that sort of thing. And through the SNUG (Springfield Urban Neighborhood Group) I'll sometimes funnel comments to the community at large about like, I don't think this is a good idea or I think that, you know, maybe we should reconsider this or maybe there should have been some due diligence, you know, in approaching this sort of like plan that was proposed to our neighborhood.
I think the neighbors are probably the most important part. If somebody wants to develop something in the inner city that is, you know, from Glenstone to Kansas to Sunshine to Kearney, in that area, if you plan on something, talk to your neighbors first, talk to the neighbors on that property that you own and make sure that you're what you're doing is copacetic with the neighbors because the neighbors are hugely impacted by anything that happens. And we've seen some wonderful cases.
If you take a look at Rountree, Rountree has this incredible place around Tie and Timber at Cherry and Pickwick in that area. It's just a fantastic neighborhood, and it's mixed. It's not just residential. There are businesses there, there's restaurants there, and it's a gathering place for people in that part of the community. And it'd be nice to see that sort of thing develop in other places, I think. But make sure that you talk to the neighbors, you know, first before you have some grandiose plan.
Schirk: Talking to your neighbors is such an important step and a great way to engage in the community. I've heard you say before that you've never really been apprehensive to get involved. You have been disappointed at times, and I'm wondering, too, is there anything that stands out as being pleasantly surprising?
Evans: It's amazing how open people are when you open a civic organization that is designed to actually promote and, and help the community, that friends come out of the woodwork to, you know, be a part of it. And to get other people to commit to that is, is difficult sometimes. And so, sometimes I wish that people would commit more. But at the same time, I'm in a job that allows me that sort of latitude. And it is part of our university mission. I'm really happy to promote neighborhood. I'm very happy to be a proud supporter of, I think I was there for every single Forward SGF meeting, you know, to try to see what was going to happen in the next 20 years in the city of Springfield. I've been active with the Sunshine Corridor study proposing, for instance, to have maybe a boulevard down Sunshine Street. It's going to cut down on traffic incidents, and it'll make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. In the future, I would love to see a few other things develop out of this. And so, if I were to envision what Springfield will be like in 20 years’ time, I would like to see bike lanes almost everywhere.
I would like to see bike boulevards developed in this city where it's not just bikes, but where the traffic — it becomes so cumbersome for a motorized vehicle, whether it's electric or gas, to go down that street that we want to have bicycles populate these sort of corridors to be able to make it possible to bike commute in this city because it's not a very bike friendly town right now.
And it's getting better with walkability. And just to give you an instance for that — Actually, my wife and I have made a commitment this year to walk 1,000 miles. And so, what that means is 2.74 miles per day, and I'm like 20 miles over. I have a little bit of a cushion right now. I did not walk into the studio today, but I will walk today. So, yesterday we walked 4.96 miles. And so, that's for personal health. It's also to, you know, what difference does it make if you have a walkable city and nobody walks? We walk to things like the Landers Theater or the Gillioz Theater, and we live in University Heights. And so, we'll easily walk two miles to go to an event. It just takes time to do that — 20 minutes a mile roughly, so you plan ahead.
Schirk: And if somebody wanted to get involved with moving toward a more bikeable city, what should they do?
Evans: There's some organizations around — Spring Bike is one of them now, and the city actually has folks that help promote that. And also, Ozark Greenways. And so, the greenways organization is very influential in where we get the trails that come into the city. We have brand new trails in this area as well. So, the Chadwick Flyer is coming into town. We have some great trails out towards the power plant in the southwest. We have great biking trails in the north as well. And, like, around Lost Hill in that area. It's spectacular. Some of the trails that we have already, it's nice to see the connection between that. I think the city has a plan to ungap the map they call it. And so, by ungapping that map, we'll make it possible for bicycles to get from place to place, from trail to trail.