OPINION: The safe network we deserve

By Liam Laird,

In a community celebrated for its outdoor recreation, you’d expect getting around on foot or by bike to be simple for everyone. Yet that’s far from reality. Our young people, in particular, are often dependent on friends and family for even the shortest trips. When access to parks, trails, and community spaces is effectively limited by age or means, we face a moral problem, because today, most of our outdoor destinations can only be reached safely by car.

That means a child who wants to travel just three blocks to a local park must rely on an adult to drive them there in a large, gas-powered vehicle. A town designed this way strips kids of basic independence. Children should be able to walk or cycle safely to the places they want to go. And in a community like ours, that shouldn’t be too much to ask.

I live just three blocks from Hollowell Park, yet there is no safe way to reach it on foot. To avoid walking along busy roads, pedestrians can slip through an alley between Lee Street Studios and a nearby home, but that route is indirect and unrealistic, especially for kids who live closer to the upper end of the park. In practice, most people take the path of least resistance: Dwyer Lane.

Dwyer may be the quickest route, but it is also the most dangerous. With no sidewalk, children must choose between walking in the road or cutting across private property. Drivers regularly exceed the speed limit, compounding the risk. The fact that this is the most realistic option for so many young people who cannot drive is not a minor inconvenience, it is a fundamental design flaw in our town.

These shortcomings affect more than children’s independence. They place tremendous strain on parents, who must now accompany their children on every single trip, getting to school, sports practices, birthday parties, and simple social hangs. Families without access to a car or an available adult are left with an even harsher reality: their children simply cannot participate. A community that forces this level of car dependency limits opportunity and creates inequity that we should not accept.

But the truth is, we don’t have to accept it. Communities across the country, and around the world, have already shown what’s possible. Small towns like our very own Marlinton, West Virginia, and cities like Bentonville, Arkansas, have invested in basic walking and cycling infrastructure and seen transformative results. None of these changes required extraordinary budgets or impossible engineering. Safe infrastructure is built from three simple components: urban trails and greenways, bike lanes, and, most importantly, sidewalks.

Imagine a community where kids can bike to their baseball games without navigating speeding traffic. Where students can walk to school on a real sidewalk. Where a child can reach a playground independently, confidently, and safely. This is not an unrealistic vision. It is the baseline infrastructure that thriving communities provide.

We deserve that network. We deserve a town that builds for safety, independence, and opportunity. We already have the destinations, the demand, and the shared desire for a more connected community. Now we need the safe routes to tie them all together.

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Liam Laird is a Junior at Greenbrier East High School. He is a member of BSA Troop 70 and the Greenbrier Valley Hellbenders youth mountain biking team.