In the last week of January and beginning of the new month it remained gray, but less rainy, and people continued to leave their apartments and houses. There is nothing noteworthy about that.

It is a gift to move about by my own power and not be encased in a car every single day. This means that I have more awareness of the people with whom I share Hartford.

If I leave for work later than usual for too long, the adults I pass dropping kids off at school comment on my apparent disappearance from society.

There is a place I pass where more than twice I’ve been asked by others walking how to find it. Finally, I looked on their website and confirmed that they are absolute shit about providing usable directions to clients, many of whom they should expect to be arriving by bike or walking from the nearest bus stop. I’m happy to guide lost people, but I hate witnessing how much anxiety some have to experience while accessing basic services.

Moving about this way means knowing that we are using our parks as part of our pedestrian transportation systems. They’re not recreational islands.

Being car-free means routinely watching people ride bicycles on sidewalks because there is no appropriate infrastructure for everyone to safely use public space. If I were a paid transportation advocate in Hartford, this is precisely the issue that I would center.

Moving this way means knowing that people wearing dark colors are as visible as those wearing hi-vis if you know how to look: you’re not looking for color, you’re looking for movement and you’re expecting to see people.