Greetings from Pedestrian and Cycle Manitou (PaCMan). Wishing you and yours many safe and delightful walking and rolling experiences in 2024. We kick off the new year with an active transportation perspective from Manitou residents and business owners Mel Bernal and Staci Pettibone. No strangers to living car-free, today their favorite modes of getting around Manitou Springs include walking and utilizing free shuttles. PaCMan hopes that you will be inspired by their mobility viewpoint and suggestions for safer routes to school, better air quality and protection of our waterways. Want to share your active transportation perspective with the community? Please reach out via Facebook or Instagram at @pacmanitou. Thank you!
How long have you been residents and business owners in Manitou Springs and why did you choose Manitou?
Our family moved to Manitou Springs in 2017. We opened our massage therapy and Reiki practice, Whole Healing Space, in 2021. We chose Manitou for its small size, proximity to the mountains, good elementary school, and slow pace. We love having our business in Manitou and serving locals. It also feels good to be able to walk down the street from our home to our business each day where we are providing services.
What are the pros/cons of walking/rolling/taking shuttles in Manitou?
The pros of walking and riding shuttles in Manitou include having the opportunity to get outside and exercise on a regular basis, while minimizing our carbon footprint. The shuttles are nice because they offer an alternative mode of transportation for people without vehicles who are not able to walk or bike. They also help minimize the amount of carbon emissions by reducing the number of vehicles driving up and down Manitou Ave.
The cons of walking and biking in Manitou are the increased exposure to automobile pollution generated by the steady rise in the number of vehicles driven in Manitou, especially during the high tourist season, and the limited bike lanes provided. These are two of our primary environmental, health and safety concerns for our residents and our air and waterways. The smell of fresh mountain air has become less and less prominent over the past 2-3 years we’ve been living in Manitou.
What infrastructure and/or esthetic improvement would have the most positive impact on your walking and shuttle experiences in Manitou?
Limiting motorized vehicles on Manitou Ave (between Memorial Park and just pass Tubby’s Turn Around until you reach the residential area) to business deliveries only. We could materialize a motor free zone on Manitou Avenue by providing electric shuttles, bikes, and scooters. PikeRide bikes and Lyme scooters would be an amazing addition to Manitou’s DT corridor and would encourage more people to drive less, helping to reduce carbon emissions in our town and runoff into our waters. Business owners and employees could park in provided lots and ride shuttles into work.
We would also like to see a traffic light installed at the crosswalk of the intersection of Manitou Avenue and El Monte Place for the safety of our middle and high school students. When walking with our kiddo to school, we witnessed several drivers fail to yield to our young people crossing the street. The flashing signs at the crosswalk do not reliably get the attention of the drivers.
What advice would you give someone who would like to give active transportation a try in Manitou but does not have much time?
We guess it depends on where someone is going but overall, we would say to incorporate it into your schedule and use any overlay time to read or listen to a book or podcast. Also, when I commuted to work by bike that was my exercise so I didn’t need to set aside time to workout! Once you get used to it you start to feel good about your choice and look forward to the experience. When the weather is not safe to ride or walk in, you could occasionally use your vehicle.
What do you think would increase more active transportation in Manitou?
Educating people more about our air quality and how it has worsened through the years, and what that means for our health, as well as the impact all the unnecessary traffic has on our waterways.
What other form(s) of transportation do you use and what has that experience been like?
In other cities we’ve used electric trains, subways and light rails. I (Mel) love to people watch and take time getting places so I really appreciate and enjoy public transportation. We also enjoy doing what we can to minimize our carbon footprint. There’s nothing like fresh mountain air and water.