If we want people to walk, we need more desirable destinations within walking distance.

There’s more than one way to get people in Lawrence walking.

Participants in last week’s “Lawrence for a Walkable Community Workshop” talked about how to encourage people to walk and cycle more and drive less. It’s a good goal that not only reduces our dependence on cars and gasoline but provides healthy exercise for a population that mostly doesn’t engage in enough physical activity.

The host of a public television show called “America’s Walking” was on hand to help lead a “walking audit” of downtown and Old West Lawrence. There are lots of great places to walk to in downtown Lawrence, but what about the rest of the community? If we want people to walk, don’t we need to provide more places they want to walk to?

Participants in the workshop dreamed up ideas to encourage walking. We could provide free admission to people who walked to the Lawrence Aquatic Center or close Massachusetts Street to vehicle traffic on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s a great idea to walk downtown to the coffee shop, the pool, the park, the library or any number of destinations (how about a downtown grocery story?), but only if you live within some reasonable walking distance of those places.

Part of making Lawrence more walkable would seem to involve planning that provides parks, recreational facilities, small commercial centers and other desirable destinations within walking distance of many neighborhoods, not just those adjacent to downtown. Recreation planners are working to create paths and greenbelts that connect neighborhoods, which is great for people who walk or cycle primarily for exercise, but what about people who want to walk to the library, the pool or the store?

Lawrence often has been fixated on having the largest library or the most elaborate pool, but by planning single large facilities, the planners almost guarantee that most people will use some kind of motorized transportation to get to those facilities.

Safety also is a factor. Crossing major thoroughfares on foot to reach a destination sometimes can be a dangerous business in Lawrence. Recent pedestrian fatalities on West Sixth Street have reminded us of those risks. Although the deaths occurred late at night and may have involved people who had consumed some alcohol, there are many places in Lawrence where pedestrians face considerable peril trying to cross a busy street even in a crosswalk in broad daylight.

Making Lawrence a more walkable community is a good goal, but in addition to having well-maintained sidewalks, planners need to look at spreading facilities around town so more places people want to go are within walking distance of their homes.