Where the Sidewalk Begins

Most mornings, when the weather is good, my daughter and her friend put on their backpacks and we plod together out the back door and down our back alley. It is about a one kilometer walk from our home to the local elementary school. Along the way we meet a mother, her big dog, and her kids. We pass a couple girls who are part of our church community, and most of the time we show up on time for the bell to ring. I meander back another way, along a pond pathway system, and home again. I have come to know the paths and sidewalks pretty well. Some have heaved in the frost and thaw, some have cracked, and others have been replaced.

Sidewalks are a valuable part of our community, they are the in-between places where neighbours meet and serves as the connecting infrastructure for anyone on foot. For many of us cars are the best way to get to where we have to go, but we seldom stop our cars to meet each other – we use cars for efficiency, but walking for interaction with each other and our city. Some numbers suggest that about 1 in 3 people do not drive, or cannot drive. Walking, and the sidewalks we use, is important to so many.

Sidewalks rarely get much notice, but we know when they are missing. Margaret Mead wrote that, “any town that doesn’t have sidewalks doesn’t love its children.” While the sentiment is strong, it highlights the importance of creating communities that make space for children, the elderly, those who cannot drive, and those with mobility challenges. Sidewalks are an invitation to explore and connect with our city and each other – feet to the pavement. 

The history of sidewalks may help us plan for their future. It used to be, in the age of horses and street markets, that every mode of transportation mixed on the busy and loud streetscape of the city. Eventually cars needed more room and pedestrians found safety along the edge of the road away from fast vehicles. Some communities have foregone sidewalks altogether. When my street was built sidewalks were not installed on one side of the street, the side most of my neighbours live along. Now most homes along my road edge right up to the street itself, making no accommodation for pedestrians. Sidewalks are easy to remove from a master-plan because they seem unnecessary and frivolous to some. Now we wish we had them.

Today we are finding a place for sidewalks again. Groups like WalkScore give a walkability number to neighbourhoods, factoring in how accessible the community might be. In London, Ontario they launched a “Sidewalks are Sexy” campaign, and in Los Angeles a community group wears, “Stop Trippin” t-shirts to help focus on the crumbling sidewalks in their neighbourhoods. 

Chestermere is celebrated for pathways and sidewalks; they bring value to our community. When we make sure that our streets are maintained, and new neighbourhoods have well connected pedestrian spaces, we create a world-class city ready for generations of explorers, urban travellers, parents with strollers, family dogs, and children who know that they have a place to belong. Shel Silverstein famously wrote about the place where the sidewalk ends, we hope that Chestermere will always be a place where the sidewalk begins.