Walking in Green Hills

Anyone who's ever met me knows I'm not a big walker... when I was a kid, I hated walking to the bus stop before school - I hated walking to class in college - and I hated it last month when I went to a friend's place in East Nashville and we walked from his house to the bars.

My dislike does not stem from a dislike of exercise - I actually love walking for exercise, love taking the dogs for walks, love taking an aimless walk around the neighborhood. When I visit AblePonder down in Mississippi, one of my favorite activities is walking with her and the dogs! Rather, it stems from the fact that I hate to get sweaty when I'm not supposed to be sweaty, and I inevitably sweat when I walk, ruining makeup, clothes and comfort for longer than the duration of the walk.

I said all of that to say: a walkable living area has not been on my list of priorities... until now.

I had the luck to work from home two days this past week (it was mixed luck, to be sure, but luck nonetheless), and I took advantage of that by taking a couple of breaks to go for walks. I'm not sure how good the walks were for my lungs (this city air is dirty!), but they were good for my mood overall, not to mention my pocket, what with the gas I didn't use driving in to the office!

It was not the first time I've walked in my neighborhood, but it was the first time it really hit home how completely UN-walkable it is. Not only are there spotty sidewalks (on the wrong side of the street for me on Hillsboro, and very few along the small side streets), but the shoulders are really skinny and non-existent in some places.

This is not to say there aren't people jogging, biking and taking dogs for walks - but I'll bet it's stopping many more from doing so. I also have adopted a new dog, Madeline, who has much more energy than my geriatric pup Georgia (she's 14!), and I'd like to take her for walks. Luckily, I'm right across from the park, so we can go there. But really, I'd like to feel I'm getting somewhere - and sometimes, I'd like to actually get somewhere - like a coffee shop, the grocery, the pharmacy, the post office, kinko's...

When i lived in Hillsboro Village, the walkability of the neighborhood was really wonderful - restaurants, bars, a grocery, coffee were all within a quick walk and really invited an outdoor community.

Now, in Green Hills, the residential/commercial mix ought to be walkable, but the lack of sidewalks discourages this. Still, on Thursday morning, I balance-beam-walked my way along the side of Graybar Lane and Hillsboro Pike down to Starbucks to have them fill my mug with coffee. Then, I walked over to the park in the afternoon with Madeline. And it felt so good!

So I've been thinking about an ideal, walkable Green Hills. Obviously, it's something that is seen as profitable - case-in-point is the expansion of The Mall at Green Hills. Down by the new California Pizza Kitchen is the Hill Center - and it is an outdoor, walkable shopping center. I'm looking forward to going down there to check it out. So - if it is profitable, couldn't local businesses be persuaded to help defray the costs of sidewalks (I'm thinking of Pier 1 imports there at the intersection of Glen Echo and Hillsboro)?

Those two days working from home have encouraged me to venture out of my house de pie more often... I'll try to venture away from my favorite street, Boensch, and perhaps I'll put on some sturdy shoes to better navigate those skinny, steep road shoulders. Still, though, until utopia descends and lays sidewalks or wide shoulders and makes me a less sweaty person, my walks are going to be challenges - which isn't a bad thing to add into the mix, after all.