Picture this: It’s midday and you’re zooming along Academy Boulevard on the east side of Colorado Springs when you spot a 20-something girl walking alongside the busy road.

She’s alone on the sidewalk, pushing forward as cars rush past.

It’s possible you think nothing of this. But perhaps you start to wonder why she’s walking alone. Maybe you even jump to the conclusion that her car must’ve broken down.

That walking girl you just pictured is me, and I’m not walking alone for any unforeseeable or unfortunate reason.

I simply like to walk.

My passion for foot travel began two years ago when my transportation lifestyle flipped upside down. I made the move from Phoenix to Seattle, where it was up to me and my two feet to get around the city. And I learned slowly, and definitely clumsily, to navigate the buses, trains, light rail and sidewalks.

So when I moved to Colorado Springs this summer, I was eager to take a walking day to explore within a few-mile radius of my apartment before hopping on a bus to the downtown terminal.

While I didn’t think twice about it before embarking, I definitely got some curious looks.

For a city that’s clearly passionate about hiking, I witnessed few fellow pedestrians. The buses that I hopped on were also fairly empty. From these observations, it seemed to me that walking and busing mostly are treated as last-resort options.

That said, I can’t blame locals for opting out of alternative transportation. Taking a bus downtown took me at least three times longer than driving a car would’ve taken. And when walking off Academy onto Bijou Street, the sidewalk I was using on the left-hand side of the road abruptly disappeared halfway, turning into coarse dust. For anyone without a car, these issues must be daily inconveniences.

It’s certainly not comforting that statewide pedestrian deaths hit an all-time high in 2017. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, there were 92 pedestrian deaths last year, which accounted for 14.2 percent of transportation fatalities.

Luckily, there is a glimmer of hope for car-less or walk-happy people such as me. CDOT published research in 2016 about the economic and health benefits of bicycling and walking, and developed a statewide bicycle and pedestrian plan in 2012. The research seems to indicate that this issue is a priority for CDOT. Perhaps future Springs residents will be able to more smoothly enjoy a commute by foot.

While walking might be a convenient option for those who live near downtown, it’s a bit more challenging from where I live on the east side of the city. So, it seems like I’ll be joining the caravan of car commuters — for the time being, anyway.

Witt is a summer intern at The Gazette who attends Seattle University.