BENTON — Jeremy Johnston and Sandy Vick live in one of the few homes near Ringgold Elementary School that sit beside a stretch of well-kept sidewalk.
Like many Benton sidewalks, it's not very long and it abruptly ends, forcing pedestriansto walk in the streets or cut through yards.
"You can see where they've cut a path," Vick said, pointing to a swath of grass children have trampled on their way to and from school.
This scenario is common in the growing Saline County city, prompting city leaders to look into ways to make the area more pedestrian friendly, especially around schools.
This week, residents will be asked to share their ideas for making a stroll safer and more pleasant. Meanwhile, city officials are working to create new sidewalk rules for developers.
The city is working with Metroplan, central Arkansas' planning agency, to develop a plan called "Walkable Benton" withresidents' input from a series of workshops. Participants will tell planners where they'd like to see sidewalks, landscaping, crosswalks and other amenities.
Other suburban communities in Arkansas are trying to become more pedestrian friendly with help from Metroplan, as well. Cabot in Lonoke County and Mayflower in Faulkner County are also creating "walkable" plans.
The first public workshop in Benton is at Ringgold Elementary from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
Benton officials have identified several areas near schools and around main corridors such as West South Street off Interstate 30 that they'd improve.
To help with the cost, the city is seeking $70,000 from the Arkansas Safe Route to School Program, which uses federal funding to encourage walking and bicycling to school. They plan to use those funds to add sidewalks near Benton High School and a pedestrianbridge at nearby Tyndall Park.
"They said the kids have been running through traffic," Mayor Rick Holland said. "They need sidewalks."
Benton spends about $100,000 a year on sidewalk repairs, but that isn't enough to add sidewalks throughout the city. Holland said that before the city sets aside additional money for pedestrian projects, he wants to get more community input.
At Thursday's workshop, participants will be given maps and sent out in to the neighborhood to look for ideas.
Afterward, they will draw up their plans and submit them to Metroplan officials, who will go over the ideas and present them at another workshop.
The focus on sidewalks marks a shift for a city divided by a sixlane highway and where residents are used to driving just about everywhere - including 20 miles to Little Rock for work and entertainment.
"It is becoming a bigger issue, and that's why it's not just roads," said Metroplan transportation planner John Hoffpauer. "They've got to look at other ways of gettingaround."
Cities that have had success in becoming more pedestrian friendly are those with strict sidewalk ordinances, planning officials say.
Last week, Benton took the first step toward such a change when it adopted a comprehensive plan that called for developers to build sidewalks "when needed."
The city is also considering an ordinance to require new residential developments to have sidewalks.
Bigger Arkansas cities such as Little Rock and Fayetteville require sidewalks in all new residential developments. And several other communities, especially those booming outside Pulaski County, have been tightening their rules to ensure new neighborhoods get sidewalks.
"Benton already does a number of things right," said Susan Dollar, a Metroplan transportation planner, who pointed to its quaint downtown square surrounded by traditional neighborhoods. "In some ways, I think we'll be reinforcing some of their more traditional values that are already there."
Arkansas, Pages 9, 11 on 03/31/2008