Where Are the Sidewalks?

Everyone walks in my neighborhood, with or without dogs. Well maybe not everyone, but there is a steady stream of walkers from first light. One of my New Years resolution was to start walking my two rescue dogs again. Unfortunately there always seem to be plenty of excuses not to walk Kayla and Frasier – it’s too cold, the wind is blowing too hard, I don’t have time – you know the exercise.

I have now, however, found the perfect excuse. There are no sidewalks. I haven’t heard of any walkers being hit by a moving vehicle in the years I have lived here, but it feels like an accident waiting to happen.

When I was growing up on Linwood Avenue off Ponce de Leon, we kids loved sidewalks. Of course, it was a different time, but in the summer we were kicked out of the house after breakfast to play. Our range was a couple of blocks in any direction. The sidewalks were a wonderful part of our play time. “Step on a crack and you’ll break your mother’s back” kept us entertained for hours. And it was great fun to use a popsicle stick to dig out the dirt in the cracks of the flagstones that made up the sidewalks. I don’t remember exactly why that was fun, but it was. We were also able to ride our scooters on the sidewalk, until at some point we all crashed at the bottom of the hill and gave that up as not so much fun.    

So what happened to sidewalks? Too expensive for the county? Not considered necessary? Who knows? I started wondering how to get sidewalks. I used to belong to an organization called PEDS, which is a nonprofit to promote safety for pedestrians. I wonder if they can help my neighborhood association try to get sidewalks. I think I will join PEDS again and see what they can do. Maybe all of us who want sidewalks should join PEDS – power in numbers you know.

Of course, if we do get sidewalk in my neighborhood, my last excuse for not walking Kayla and Frasier will no longer be valid!