William
2007-07-10 22:05:48 UTC
Please read the whole article.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-17-sidewalks_N.htm
NORTHBROOK, Ill. - Jennifer Lee-Olmstead doesn't understand why this
village wants to install sidewalks on Whitehall Drive, the cul-de-sac
where she lives.
"It just seems like such a waste of the town's resources to be
building sidewalks where residents don't really need them or want
them," she says. She would rather spend the money on the library,
schools and parks. "I don't see why we're wasting the energy and
oxygen talking about sidewalks," she says.
Village President Gene Marks thought he was giving people what they
wanted when this growing Chicago suburb decided to fill 40 miles of
gaps in its sidewalk system.
"All we heard for a long, long time from people in the village was,
'We want sidewalks,' " he says. The village notified residents in
April that it planned to begin work this summer. "We thought we'd give
everybody sidewalks and everybody would be happy," he says.
Then the complaints started to roll in. Homeowners began circulating
petitions demanding that their sidewalk-free neighborhoods stay that
way. More than 25 petitions have been submitted.
Similar battles are occurring in communities across the nation. City
officials say sidewalks make streets safer, coax people out of their
cars to walk and connect with their neighbors, but residents often
argue that they are unnecessary and can ruin the small-town feel of
their neighborhoods.
Hubert Frank, a retired computer programmer, collected the signatures
of all 11 of his neighbors on Whitehall Drive, including Lee-Olmstead,
saying the cul-de-sac doesn't need or want sidewalks. Safety isn't an
issue, he says, because there's little traffic, and sidewalks would
displace trees and flowers. Nor do residents want to pay half the
cost, which could exceed $1,000 for each owner.
Howard Handler collected signatures on The Strand, where a sidewalk
exists on one side of the street. Adding one on the other side "would
completely destroy the beauty of our street," he says.
Marks is reluctantly yielding to residents who have created a ruckus
here. "If people don't want sidewalks, we'll spend the money
elsewhere," he says. At a village meeting tonight, he plans to
announce that if a majority of homeowners on a street don't want
sidewalks, they won't get them.
There will be exceptions, Marks says: Sidewalks are required on
streets within a half-mile of schools and in all new developments.
Sidewalks encourage people to walk, reduce pedestrian injuries and
deaths and create a sense of community, says Megan Lewis of the
American Planning Association, a research group for city and county
planners. "If you provide sidewalks, you're giving people a choice on
how they can get from one place to another," she says.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a preliminary
analysis shows that 4,768 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes
in 2006.
Sidewalk spats elsewhere:
·Red Wing, Minn.: After the City Council created a sidewalk committee
to set priorities, it announced construction would begin this year on
sidewalks in some neighborhoods.
Surveyors are doing preliminary work now, and engineering director Ron
Rosenthal says they are hearing complaints from residents. "It seems
like they always don't want sidewalks in front of their house, but
they want them in front of everybody else's house," he says.
Councilman Mike Schultz says safety is his top concern. He parked near
an elementary school in an area with no sidewalks and watched students
walk down the middle of the street when classes ended, he says. "We
need to provide them a safe route," he says. "We also want to be
reasonable."
·Naples, Fla.: Plans to install sidewalks in Old Naples, one of the
city's oldest neighborhoods, prompted opponents to form a group called
Neighbors to Preserve Paradise. In a letter to the City Council, the
organization said the sidewalk plan would have "serious financial
implications for homeowners as well as further erode the environmental
and residential character" of the city.
Mayor Bill Barnett says the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists is
his priority. Some opponents say adding sidewalks will fuel crime, he
says, "but we're not buying that."
· Blackman Township, Mich.: After a months-long dispute, construction
is underway in a neighborhood that resisted sidewalk installation. The
township, which is just outside Jackson, considered condemnation
proceedings after some property owners refused to agree to easements.
Agreements were reached through "persistence and negotiations and
common sense," says township clerk Mike Thomas.
·Mukwonago, Wis.: In the 1980s, a proposal to install sidewalks along
Jefferson Street was so divisive that it led to a recall election. A
village president and three trustees were removed from office. Those
sidewalks were built.
Three years ago, there were new protests over another sidewalk plan.
Eventually those plans were abandoned, says village engineer Kurt
Peot. Village officials have "decided that in existing subdivisions,
they won't add sidewalks if they didn't previously have them," Peot
says. "The comments were primarily that it was a rural area and they
wanted to preserve the rural feel."
So, where to start? Well, I would first off like to say that if you
don't "need"
sidewalks then your basically saying that all you ever want to do is
drive if you need to get anywhere. This also implies that you are
never just going to need to go anywhere else in your "community" thats
within walking distance.
"Sidewalks encourage people to walk, reduce pedestrian injuries and
deaths and create a sense of community, says Megan Lewis of the
American Planning Association, a research group for city and county
planners. "If you provide sidewalks, you're giving people a choice on
how they can get from one place to another," she says."
Suburbs have many families, no arguing against that.
So where is your three year old kid going to ride his tricycle for
example? I don't think he's old enough for riding in the street quite
yet. And whats this stuff about sidewalks "taking away the small town
feeling"? First of all, it's not a town lady, it's a suburb. Deal with
it. Anyways, I'm pretty sure small towns have sidewalks. Pat back me
up on this one? My mom grew up in Lincoln Nebraska and they had
sidewalks. Also, if you wanted to just walk to the local drug store to
pick up some things, where are you going to walk? I really don't think
it's a good thing to force people to walk on the street, or on
people's property. Especially when theres suposidly "flowers and
plants there.
Just because the people want something, doesnt mean it's a good thing
to give it to them,(or not give it to them in this matter).
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-17-sidewalks_N.htm
NORTHBROOK, Ill. - Jennifer Lee-Olmstead doesn't understand why this
village wants to install sidewalks on Whitehall Drive, the cul-de-sac
where she lives.
"It just seems like such a waste of the town's resources to be
building sidewalks where residents don't really need them or want
them," she says. She would rather spend the money on the library,
schools and parks. "I don't see why we're wasting the energy and
oxygen talking about sidewalks," she says.
Village President Gene Marks thought he was giving people what they
wanted when this growing Chicago suburb decided to fill 40 miles of
gaps in its sidewalk system.
"All we heard for a long, long time from people in the village was,
'We want sidewalks,' " he says. The village notified residents in
April that it planned to begin work this summer. "We thought we'd give
everybody sidewalks and everybody would be happy," he says.
Then the complaints started to roll in. Homeowners began circulating
petitions demanding that their sidewalk-free neighborhoods stay that
way. More than 25 petitions have been submitted.
Similar battles are occurring in communities across the nation. City
officials say sidewalks make streets safer, coax people out of their
cars to walk and connect with their neighbors, but residents often
argue that they are unnecessary and can ruin the small-town feel of
their neighborhoods.
Hubert Frank, a retired computer programmer, collected the signatures
of all 11 of his neighbors on Whitehall Drive, including Lee-Olmstead,
saying the cul-de-sac doesn't need or want sidewalks. Safety isn't an
issue, he says, because there's little traffic, and sidewalks would
displace trees and flowers. Nor do residents want to pay half the
cost, which could exceed $1,000 for each owner.
Howard Handler collected signatures on The Strand, where a sidewalk
exists on one side of the street. Adding one on the other side "would
completely destroy the beauty of our street," he says.
Marks is reluctantly yielding to residents who have created a ruckus
here. "If people don't want sidewalks, we'll spend the money
elsewhere," he says. At a village meeting tonight, he plans to
announce that if a majority of homeowners on a street don't want
sidewalks, they won't get them.
There will be exceptions, Marks says: Sidewalks are required on
streets within a half-mile of schools and in all new developments.
Sidewalks encourage people to walk, reduce pedestrian injuries and
deaths and create a sense of community, says Megan Lewis of the
American Planning Association, a research group for city and county
planners. "If you provide sidewalks, you're giving people a choice on
how they can get from one place to another," she says.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a preliminary
analysis shows that 4,768 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes
in 2006.
Sidewalk spats elsewhere:
·Red Wing, Minn.: After the City Council created a sidewalk committee
to set priorities, it announced construction would begin this year on
sidewalks in some neighborhoods.
Surveyors are doing preliminary work now, and engineering director Ron
Rosenthal says they are hearing complaints from residents. "It seems
like they always don't want sidewalks in front of their house, but
they want them in front of everybody else's house," he says.
Councilman Mike Schultz says safety is his top concern. He parked near
an elementary school in an area with no sidewalks and watched students
walk down the middle of the street when classes ended, he says. "We
need to provide them a safe route," he says. "We also want to be
reasonable."
·Naples, Fla.: Plans to install sidewalks in Old Naples, one of the
city's oldest neighborhoods, prompted opponents to form a group called
Neighbors to Preserve Paradise. In a letter to the City Council, the
organization said the sidewalk plan would have "serious financial
implications for homeowners as well as further erode the environmental
and residential character" of the city.
Mayor Bill Barnett says the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists is
his priority. Some opponents say adding sidewalks will fuel crime, he
says, "but we're not buying that."
· Blackman Township, Mich.: After a months-long dispute, construction
is underway in a neighborhood that resisted sidewalk installation. The
township, which is just outside Jackson, considered condemnation
proceedings after some property owners refused to agree to easements.
Agreements were reached through "persistence and negotiations and
common sense," says township clerk Mike Thomas.
·Mukwonago, Wis.: In the 1980s, a proposal to install sidewalks along
Jefferson Street was so divisive that it led to a recall election. A
village president and three trustees were removed from office. Those
sidewalks were built.
Three years ago, there were new protests over another sidewalk plan.
Eventually those plans were abandoned, says village engineer Kurt
Peot. Village officials have "decided that in existing subdivisions,
they won't add sidewalks if they didn't previously have them," Peot
says. "The comments were primarily that it was a rural area and they
wanted to preserve the rural feel."
So, where to start? Well, I would first off like to say that if you
don't "need"
sidewalks then your basically saying that all you ever want to do is
drive if you need to get anywhere. This also implies that you are
never just going to need to go anywhere else in your "community" thats
within walking distance.
"Sidewalks encourage people to walk, reduce pedestrian injuries and
deaths and create a sense of community, says Megan Lewis of the
American Planning Association, a research group for city and county
planners. "If you provide sidewalks, you're giving people a choice on
how they can get from one place to another," she says."
Suburbs have many families, no arguing against that.
So where is your three year old kid going to ride his tricycle for
example? I don't think he's old enough for riding in the street quite
yet. And whats this stuff about sidewalks "taking away the small town
feeling"? First of all, it's not a town lady, it's a suburb. Deal with
it. Anyways, I'm pretty sure small towns have sidewalks. Pat back me
up on this one? My mom grew up in Lincoln Nebraska and they had
sidewalks. Also, if you wanted to just walk to the local drug store to
pick up some things, where are you going to walk? I really don't think
it's a good thing to force people to walk on the street, or on
people's property. Especially when theres suposidly "flowers and
plants there.
Just because the people want something, doesnt mean it's a good thing
to give it to them,(or not give it to them in this matter).
