About 20 people joined the Oct. 5 walk-and-roll audit in Sun Prairie, while a separate group assessed parts of Madison’s east side on Oct. 7. The events were part of the national Week Without Driving initiative, which draws attention to the realities of traveling without a car. Participants included local transportation planners, AARP Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The groups used checklists to assess whether routes were safe, comfortable, functional and inviting. Zia Brucaya, a manager with the Greater Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization’s RoundTrip program, said comfort and interest can be overlooked even though both shape whether people choose to walk.

In Sun Prairie, participants walked from the public library to Westside Elementary School and along Main Street. At the intersection of North Walker Way and Buena Vista Drive, they noted that an all-way stop requires drivers to slow down, but the sidewalks do not line up across the street. That can make it harder for people with limited vision to locate a direct crossing.

Kathleen Callen, of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired, said the placement and direction of tactile curb ramps could lead her to cross the intersection in a three-sided route rather than walk straight across. Misaligned curb ramps can also encourage diagonal crossings, which may make pedestrians less visible to drivers.

Participants said large traffic-signal control boxes at the intersection could further obstruct drivers’ view. Sun Prairie transportation planner David Salmon called the combination a “double-whammy.”

The group also discussed the five-foot-wide sidewalks along Main Street. Wider walkways could give pedestrians more room and support the city’s plans for additional housing and mixed-use development along the corridor, Salmon said.

In Madison, participants examined routes near Pinney Library, Cottage Grove Road and La Follette High School. City Transportation Director Christof Spieler said much of the east side was developed during a period when planning prioritized cars, unlike older areas such as downtown.

One group praised the width and level surface of the shared-use path along Dempsey Street, saying it was easier for people to pass one another, including someone pushing a wheelchair. But the experience changed along Cottage Grove Road, where participants encountered more traffic noise and fewer trees.

Darrin Wasniewski, a senior associate state director for AARP Wisconsin, said the street’s wide planted buffer offered some separation from traffic, but the route still did not feel comfortable. Participants also timed the pedestrian signal at Cottage Grove Road and Lumbermans Trail. They found it adequate for faster walkers, but questioned whether people who move more slowly had enough time to cross.

Wasniewski said accessible walking routes matter to older residents who may want to reach everyday destinations on foot, and can support physical health and social connection. In the area near La Follette High School, participants encountered a more basic barrier: they had to walk through grass to reach a nearby destination because no sidewalk connected the route.

Sun Prairie, too, has sidewalk gaps in neighborhoods built in the 1950s through the 1970s, when sidewalks were not always required, Salmon said. The city has been adding infrastructure over time. Callen said she has seen more pedestrian signals and crossings than she did decades ago, describing the change as progress made in increments.

Participants and planners pointed to possible improvements including trees, benches for people waiting for buses, clearer street markings, wider sidewalks and better-designed crossings. Spieler said Madison’s east-side streets often have wide rights-of-way that could accommodate sidewalks and bike paths while also allowing tighter turns and pedestrian refuge areas at intersections.

He said those changes could benefit drivers as well as people walking, including along Stoughton Road. The audits did not set out a construction schedule, but they documented specific design issues for local planners to consider as the cities update pedestrian infrastructure.