He wants to reclaim towns for pedestrians

This time Burden has positioned 20 East Aurora residents in the street as if they were traffic cones. He's lined them up in an arc that sweeps forward from the front left fender of a parked car before curving to the curb at the end of the block. This, he explains, is a curb extension.

Widening the sidewalk at the end of a block prevents turning cars from cutting the corner and forces them to slow down. It also gives crossing pedestrians a vantage point that is unobstructed by parked cars and shortens the distance they have to walk across the intersection.

The knowledge Burden imparts is not innovative - any traffic engineer knows about curb extensions. What makes Burden special is how he spreads the word to non-professionals who share his vision for a pedestrian-friendly America.

"You need to know those kinds of terms to be able to speak," says Bruce Davidson, president of Aurora Citizens for Smart Growth.

Mr. Davidson wants to learn the lingo because in a few years the New York State Department of Transportation plans to tear up East Aurora's main street.

"We want to make sure that the project works in our favor, that there's no widening, that pedestrians come first and foremost," says Libby Weberg, a member of Aurora Citizens for Smart Growth.

If western New York hadn't snoozed through the most recent period of national prosperity, East Aurora might have more problems than it does. The west end of town already has a shopping plaza and its share of fast-food restaurants and drive-through banks.

But the village of 6,673 people also has a real Main Street, anchored by a genuine five-and-dime that sells Necco Wafers and other candies that haven't been seen in most places for years.

The town also has a movie theater straight out of "The Last Picture Show" - one screen, 650 seats, and real butter on the popcorn. Next door is Patina, a restaurant that serves new American cuisine in a restored 19th-century home.

"The things you've got, other people wish they had," Burden tells the 100 people assembled in the middle school cafeteria.

Still, this community has made some critical mistakes, he says. Building the new high school a mile outside town means more kids will ride the bus or drive instead of walking. And those who have no other transportation must walk home from after-school activities along a busy road with no sidewalk.

East Aurora's post office has moved out of the town center, too.

"They've stolen your post office," Burden admonishes. "You need to get your post office back."

In Burden's ideal community, traffic would roll along Main Street at 15 to 20 mph. The library, post office, and town hall would sit in an attractive downtown with parking on the street.

"Cities work best if we keep them compact," he says.

Burden wants to see housing in town, and most people living within walking distance of a "100 percent place" - such as a public square where people can gather. Nobody should live more than an eighth of a mile from a park. Bike lanes and walking paths would link the town's major attractions to one another and to neighborhoods. And there would be enough crosswalks so pedestrians didn't have to go more than 150 feet out of their way to cross.

East Aurora could be like that, Burden says, but only if the people who live there take some initiative. They need to persuade transportation officials to preserve Main Street as a focal point, not a thoroughfare. And they must encourage national chains to lay aside their plans for drive-through megastores and think outside the big box.

"If you do nothing," he warns, "then what you get is going to haunt you for the next 50 years."

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