Sidewalks pit neighbor against neighbor

[^_^ 5,021]

This "controversy" is strange to me. I moved to the town I currently live in back in the early 90s (Bill Clinton was just elected President, to put it in P&R terms) and there were very few sidewalks. Since then, all but the most remote parts of town now have them. Every new development ranging from entry-level to luxury to 55+ has them. What exactly is so controversial about sidewalks? It's nice to be able to go for a walk when the weathers nice.

Sidewalks are dividing neighbors in a number of places across the country. The tension has grown more acute in recent years as young families in suburbs seek to make their communities more walkable, perhaps even reminiscent of the cities they fled. Town planners largely welcome the trend, but amid shrinking municipal budgets, localities and their residents squabble over who should pay—developers, communities or homeowners themselves.

And then there's the more entrenched opposition from longtime residents: the foot soldiers against footpaths.

"I'm not politically active. I stay within my own world. But since we started fighting over sidewalks, it's become a movement," says Joseph Saunders, a 63-year-old retired construction worker. He lives on King Road in Rocky Point, N.Y., where a local politician introduced a plan to install sidewalks late last year. "Cement companies—are they the ones pushing for this? They are the only ones who truly benefit," says Mr. Saunders. "Nobody walks on King Road. Everybody drives."

Planners' counterargument, of course, is: Build it—and they will walk. In 2008, Salisbury, N.C., began requiring builders to include sidewalks in all newly constructed communities; a developer can instead opt to pay the city at a fee of $22 per linear foot. Salisbury also devised a "sidewalk priority index" to evaluate which areas most needed better connectivity, such as those close to schools, parks and transit. "We see a community with 'full-service streets' in which cars and pedestrians, bicyclists and buses are equally at home," says a report on the future of the city. "We see well-planned neighborhoods, designed to encourage walking from home to work, from home to the corner store…"

The city has been paying up to one-third of the cost of sidewalk installation but urban designer Lynn Raker says few homeowners request the assistance. "They realize it makes their neighborhood more attractive and pedestrian-friendly," she says.

That was hardly the reception of residents in Janesville, Wis., when its planners unveiled a proposal to install sidewalks in places that had been exempted from them. "It's just been a circus," said Walden Thiede, an 80-year-old retired automotive engineer. "Nobody wants to pay for anything." Ultimately, homeowners will have to pay for about 50 miles of sidewalk over the next seven years, about $2,000 to $2,500 for the average lot.

Pulte Homes, one of the nation's largest builders, says sidewalks aren't a given in all communities, although it has seen an uptick in localities requiring them to be. Active communities for the over-55 set and "move-up" buyers, meaning growing families, will very likely get sidewalks, says Pulte spokeswoman Valerie Dolenga. "Where you won't see it is in multifamily and entry-level buyers," she says.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704329104576138621423895138.html

[Saddle Bronc 124]

How about winter maintenance? (if you own a house and there is sidewalk in front--you hafta shovel it).

[^_^ 5,021]

... if you own a house and there is sidewalk in front--you hafta shovel it.

I am aware. I used to shovel my parents house sidewalk when I lived there. And it's a corner lot so the sidewalk was loooooong. I used to start off shoveling the entire width of the sidewalk and then as I went on the shoveled area got narrower and narrower until at the very end (right before the next property started) it was as wide as my shovel. My dad even got fined for it a few times.

[Ban Hammer 13,530]

How about winter maintenance? (if you own a house and there is sidewalk in front--you hafta shovel it).

that, the cost, and that your sidewalk that you paid for became public property.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

that, the cost, and that your sidewalk that you paid for became public property.

Even worse are sidewalks fronted by grassy strips (I've seen strips that are 15' wide--about the length of a Camry). Not only do you need to shovel sidewalk in winter, but you then have in spring/summer to partly maintain (meaning mowing) that strip--so you wind up paying for it even more times than for a "plain" sidewalk (very few people use push-mowers--most run on current or petrol, which hit for $$).

[Golden Gate 530]

Where I grew up, we had sidewalks, and where I live now, we have no sidewalks. So, as a result, I have noticed that hardly anyone walks around here, nor do they hardly ever ride bikes. It definately has to do with spending money on such things around here and the lifestyle habits people are accustomed to.

I also see that people can get uptight about their property. Our neighbor used to mow just his two feet of the lawn that divided our properties, leaving the other two feet for us to do.

The downside of cementing everything is that there are no more free spaces - like we used to have a big field with trees at the end of our street, where we could run, climb trees, build forts, etcetera. Now every inch is owned by someone and there is NO TRESPASSING!

[^_^ 5,021]

Where I grew up, we had sidewalks, and where I live now, we have no sidewalks. So, as a result, I have noticed that hardly anyone walks around here, nor do they hardly ever ride bikes. It definately has to do with spending money on such things around here and the lifestyle habits people are accustomed to.

I also see that people can get uptight about their property. Our neighbor used to mow just his two feet of the lawn that divided our properties, leaving the other two feet for us to do.

The downside of cementing everything is that there are no more free spaces - like we used to have a big field with trees at the end of our street, where we could run, climb trees, build forts, etcetera. Now every inch is owned by someone and there is NO TRESPASSING!

Fortress America.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

walk down the side part of the street in your neighborhood... who needs sidewalks?

Of course, I suppose this is dependent on the area you live not being overly busy with traffic, but most neighborhoods shouldn't have traffic unless you live in a very urban area, which would probably have sidewalks to begin with.

My problem is/always has been the 'publicly owned' but you're responsible for it... Screw that.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

"Nobody wants to pay for anything."

That right there.... the mindset of some who don't see any usefulness of anything they don't personally benefit from.

[Golden Gate 530]

"Nobody wants to pay for anything."

That right there.... the mindset of some who don't see any usefulness of anything they don't personally benefit from.

Some people just don't like to share

[Obama 2012 1,714]

"Nobody wants to pay for anything."

That right there.... the mindset of some who don't see any usefulness of anything they don't personally benefit from.

Why should one pay for something they don't benefit from. Even worse why should they have to pay for and maintain something they don't benefit from.

[^_^ 5,021]

I've always maintained that sidewalks (and the emphasis on 'walkability' in general) reeks of the communism.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Why should one pay for something they don't benefit from. Even worse why should they have to pay for and maintain something they don't benefit from.

Ayn Rand runs strong in you. Most people who've lived in a functional family understand altruism.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Ayn Rand runs strong in you. Most people who've lived in a functional family understand altruism.

Right, but family is immediate and close. Society is not.

I don't giving a flying rats ####### about the moron next to me in the checkout line at the grocery store.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Right, but family is immediate and close. Society is not.

I don't giving a flying rats ####### about the moron next to me in the checkout line at the grocery store.

That's your problem. You are a deviant among inherently social animals. May I suggest a cave or perhaps an isolated island somewhere?