An expert on nonmotorized transportation said Jackson Hole’s pathways program is well conceived but additional steps could encourage more people to travel by foot or bicycle instead of car.

Rutgers University professor John Pucher told an audience of about 50 people Thursday that encouraging walking and cycling trips is a public-health issue as much as a transportation issue. Pucher cited research by the British Medical Association that found that every hour spent walking or biking adds more than an hour to one’s healthy lifetime

“If we can get that message to politicians, there would be much more political support and more funding for alternative transportation,” Pucher said. “A huge public-information campaign is needed to emphasize both the direct and indirect public-health benefits of walking and cycling.”

During his presentation as keynote speaker of Bike Week, Pucher pointed out that in the United States walking and cycling receive the least amount of funding of all travel modes and least roadway space. He said pedestrians and cyclists have the least priority in roadway use.

“We should turn this around,” he said. “Cycling can be made safe if you provide quality cycling facilities.”

Pucher, who hasn’t owned a car since 1973, cycled the streets and pathways of Jackson with Friends of Pathways director Tim Young during his visit. While complimenting the valley’s existing pathway system and efforts to encourage nonmotorized travel, Teton County can still improve several aspects of the existing system, Pucher said. He pointed to a lack of connected pathways in several critical areas and said that a path along but separate from Highway 22 is critically needed. Pucher said the shoulder of Highway 22 is unsafe for cyclists entering town from the west, and he rejected the notion that the five-way intersection at Broadway, Pearl Street and Flat Creek Drive couldn’t be redesigned to safely accommodate cyclists.

“I don’t buy that there isn’t enough room,” Pucher said. “A complete street will also serve cyclists and pedestrians.”

Teton County Commissioner Ben Ellis, the lone elected official who attended the talk, said his support of multiple transportation options was affirmed by Pucher’s research, but he said the Broadway intersection presents difficult problems.

“Broadway is uniquely complicated. It’s a major thoroughfare where thousands of cars go through and I’m not sure any of his solutions would be applicable,” Ellis said. “The reality is we’re not going to get a clean and elegant solution there right now.”

Pucher’s presentation included numerous photographs illustrating how European cities have made accommodations to encourage walking and cycling, and he provided statistics showing how a change in transportation policies made by governmental bodies in the mid-1970s led to an increase in trips made by bicycle.

In the Netherlands, 27 percent of all trips are now made by bicycle, compared with 1 percent in the United States.

“The Dutch are masters of designing cycling facilities,” Pucher noted, showing examples of separate cycling lanes, traffic signals dedicated to cyclists and intersections where cyclists are given priority over cars.

Pucher also noted that even in car-loving countries such as Germany, 9 percent of local trips are made by bicycle.

“There are policies that will succeed, even with high levels of car ownership,” he said. “Germans love their cars, too.”

Pucher stressed that a technique known as “traffic calming,” in which speed limits are reduced to 19 mph or less and physical measures are incorporated that force cars to slow down, improves cyclist and pedestrian safety. Traffic calming techniques such as road narrowing, traffic circles, raised intersections and crosswalks and speed bumps have led to a 60 to 80 percent reduction in pedestrian and cycling injuries and fatalities, according to research Pucher cited. Those ideas resonated with Ellis, who said Jackson’s downtown streets could be made safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Our downtown core in particular is ripe for redevelopment,” Ellis said. “The walking mall idea shows again and again to be economically valuable and I think it’s worth exploring.”

Ellis said that jurisdictional challenges present obstacles to changing roadway standards, but he also said the availability of state and federal funding resources allows local government to look at transportation in a different way.

“If you look at START’s budget, so much comes from federal and state sources,” Ellis said. “So much of pathways funding comes from outside the community. The con is we won’t necessarily come up with an ideal balance.”

Ellis pointed out that Jackson is a small community in relation to the amount of traffic it has on its streets, particularly during the summer months.

“Developing an infrastructure that could bring our visitors and second-home owners onto buses, bike paths and walking is a big challenge,” Ellis said. “That hasn’t been addressed in similar types of communities.”

Pucher said it’s important to design pedestrian and bicycle facilities that are as inclusive as possible and cater to the huge range and cycling preferences and diverse user groups, including children and senior citizens. He stressed that cycling routes should connect to public transportation centers and children should be encouraged to cycle from a young age. In 1974, 60 percent of children in the United States walked or biked to school, whereas in 2001, only 13 percent did. Two-third of all school-aged children who live within a mile of their school still travel by car.

Ellis said he believes Jackson is on the right track in reducing its automobile dependence but there’s still many opportunities to implement some of Pucher’s suggestions.

“As a community, I feel like we’ve clearly made this commitment,” Ellis said. “We’ve spent a heck of a lot of money, but clearly there’s so much more that we can do.”