AUBURN – It’s only about 475 yards from his driveway to the Auburn City Building, so Councilor Kelly Matzen said he’d feel foolish dragging his car out for such a short trip.

So he walks. Every Monday night, as the other councilors are saying their goodbyes and City Manager Pat Finnigan is getting the council chambers ready for Tuesday morning, Matzen braces for whatever weather awaits him.

“The typical winter weather, that doesn’t really bother me,” Matzen said. “What I really don’t like is the freezing rain and the wind. That’s when it doesn’t matter if you have an umbrella or not, you’re getting wet. But I still do it.”

Out the city building, cutting behind Midas to Court Street, across Union Street and up Goff Hill to the mouth of Lake Street and his waiting driveway. It’s about a seven-minute walk, depending on the lights and the traffic.

He walks to work daily as well. That’s no big thing either. His law office is back across Court Street, behind Corey’s driving school. So each morning at about 7:30 a.m., he strolls down Goff Hill, past the line of cars waiting to get across Union Street.

“Most days, I can get to work faster than anyone I greet sitting there,” he said. “And if there’s a train down there, there’s no doubt.”

A habit for 30 years

Matzen said he began walking to work daily when his office was in the Dunlap Building, a bit farther downtown. That was 1973, and he’s never really stopped. His car stays garaged most days – unless he has to go to court.

“But I don’t much court work,” he said. “And I’ve always said, my political ambitions are limited to ones within walking distance. And I’m not moving.”

His pedestrian habits have given him a useful perspective for a city councilor. As a member of the city’s pedestrian committee, Matzen has pushed to get crosswalks posted and get police to enforce the state’s strict pedestrian right-of-way law. He’s also been a backer of community walking paths, like the downtown Riverwalk, the Spring Road path on the northern shores of Lake Auburn and the Mount Apatite Park trail system.

“Walking is more than just getting from here to there,” Matzen said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that it’s the one form of recreation people can keep all their lives. It’s not like running, or football or softball. You can always walk.”

staylor@sunjournal.com