Lack Of Sidewalks In The Suburbs

[worldlyman]

Sidewalks are a peripheral or major concrete connector of things far and even near, depending on what type of metro you live in. In a more informal place place like Houston, you can do pretty much what you want with them: Walk, jog, ride a bike, skate or whatever.

In Houston, well the proper city limits, it is fair to say that they are decently supplied. Roads that I thought would never get them such as Cook, Kirkwood, High Star and such finally got them once the "boom years" were over and Houston decided to address a few quality of life issues.

But the areas outside of the Houston city limits...that's another story. It's kind of amusing but sad how you can drive westbound on Bellaire then as you pass Eldridge and the "Leaving Houston City Limits" sign...the sidewalk ends right there.

I almost get bitter at driving down Wilcrest, well-supplied with sidewalks on the Houston side of the SW Fwy but as you go down southbound when it turns to Murphy Rd on the Stafford/Ft. Bend side, the sidewalks stop and it's just pad parking lots or vacant grass fields.

Why do these damn developers or powers-that-be blatantly or arrogantly ignore the factor of non-vehicular commuters or pleasure pedestrians? It's not exactly safe to be a cyclist on these types of open roads either.

Drive north on I-45, turn left on FM 1960...and for the first mile (if that), cool, sidewalks to complement the pretty landscaping there. Then, the sidewalks stop and it's just parking lots in front of strip malls. There are just green grass plots or separators to space the road from the parking lots or buildings.

It's a shame that we have this pattern in Pearland, Katy, etc. Clear Lake has done a kinda decent job putting sidewalks in their largely suburban style layout. You see a nice winding sidewalk along Hwy 6 as you veer southeast in Sugarland past the SW Fwy and First Colony.

Why can't the outer rims of Houston do this? It is kind of angering how the pedestrian or non-vehicular human is left out of consideration in the construction or maintenance of these commercial corridors.

I bring this up because here in San Diego, for instance, an area which is like Houston in terms of sprawl, freeways, suburban features...just about every street in every suburban city has sidewalks for the non-auto options. (Some unincorporated areas of San Diego like Spring Valley don't have sidewalks but those are the exception.) Even a busy industrial-type, six-lane thoroughfare like Miramar...has sidewalks! Can you imagine something like the Spencer Highway with ample sidewalks?

I mean, I'm not even what you call anally aesthetic...if we have to have strip centers, at least put sidewalks in front so that cyclists or pedestrians can have something to traverse, so they don't have to share in and out-ways with cars or trucks.

'Twould be great if money from the counties and developers could be used to consider sidewalks in outer Houston.

[editor]

But... if the 'burbs had sidewalks, people might... WALK ON THE STREET instead of driving to the gym to walk!

[Talbot]

I always laugh when I drive through the suburbs and hardly see any sidewalks, but then get on the access roads and see sidewalks almost all the way down. Stupid.

[dbigtex56]

I always laugh when I drive through the suburbs and hardly see any sidewalks, but then get on the access roads and see sidewalks almost all the way down. Stupid.

Even worse (and less funny) is walking a distance down these sidewalks, only to discover too late that they peter out in the middle of several lanes of traffic, with no recourse but to retrace ones steps.

[zaphod]

the worst part is when they end in a really deep ditch and your on your bike and you go flying into the mud

[worldlyman]

I'm all for sidewalks, but "pleasure pedestrians"? An unshaded sidewalk between a busy street and a strip-mall parking lot is no place for a pleasurable stroll. Along South Post Oak, near where I live, the only people I see using the sidewalks are the destitute, car-less residents of the blighted low-rent apartment complexes in the area. Usually, they're on their way to or from the bus stop or the grocery store.

People tend to use sidewalks more when there's a barrier of parked cars between the sidewalk and the street. These form a kind of buffer zone that makes pedestrians feel safer. Pedestrian traffic is even greater when storefronts line the sidewalks. The strip mall with ample parking up front has been the model for low-density commercial development ever since World War II--especially in the sunbelt. Unfortunately, this type of development, which predominates in Houston, is built with cars in mind and is not very pedestrian-friendly, whether there are sidewalks along the street or not.

I see what you mean, but as I've said, it's not about aesthetics per se. San Diego has a lot of parking lot/strip center-infested avenues and boulevards but still typically have attendant sidewalks, even in outer suburban cities.

Sometimes people's cars break down and it would be good if they can walk to a service station on sidewalks of whatever construct without being nailed on the shoulder/curb of FM 1960 or the Spencer Hwy.

For a good part, people in Houston of varying socio-economic means don't live too terribly far from a strip mall and perhaps would like the option to walk or cycle to eat some corner Chinese or buy a postcard without having to drive a car. Some people in the households may not even have cars. There are just so many variables in the demographic that Houston's suburbs should not shortchange the sidewalks anyway.

Besides, I have been a pleasure walker on streets like Bellaire and Gessner, and I've never been considered destitute or car-less. It's good exercise and excellent mental stimulation, to boot.

[Jim Black]

Having just moved from Humble proper to Kingwood, I spent three years walking in Humble. Beside from the fact that car traffic have zero respect for padestrians. The crossing signals there are a total joke. Only staying on long enough to cross one or two lanes of a six lane street. Of the sixteen signals protecting the two intersections in front of the Humble police station, only two work. That's what 12.5% work or is it 87.5% don't. But even here in Kingwood now within the Houston city limits, many of the greenbelt trails have settled to a point where they flood and are also closed from dusk to dawn.

I don't really have any answers, just gripps.

[Jeebus]

The entrance to our neighborhood is a grand four lane street with an esplanade. The street is about 1/4 of a mile long and has landscaped trees similar to many Sugar Land neighborhoods. Every day I watch at least a hundred kids cross over FM1464 from Bush High into the neighborhood, only to have to walk into the street due to no sidewalks. Dozens of kids also walk down FM1464 to get to neighboring subdivisions. So many walk in the ditch that there is a beaten foot-path visible from the road. Oh, for those that don't know the area, FM1464 is a two lane road with ditches on both sides.

Rediculous.

[dbigtex56]

I always laugh when I drive through the suburbs and hardly see any sidewalks, but then get on the access roads and see sidewalks almost all the way down. Stupid.

Even worse (and less funny) is walking a distance down these sidewalks, only to discover too late that they peter out in the middle of several lanes of traffic, with no recourse but to retrace ones steps.

Thought this topic could use a bump, probably because it happened to me again today. There's really nothing quite like walking a quarter mile to discover that the sidewalk ends in the middle of nowhere, for no particular reason.

So what does one do? Walk on the edge of a road where cars whizzing by at sixty miles per hour? Or slog (in one's good shoes) through ruts, mud, grass and assorted debris? Turn around and meekly walk an extra mile or two, because a few hundred feet of sidewalk wasn't installed?

Reports of pedestrians being killed on Houston's freeways occur with sickening frequency. Some people - well, heartless, intellectually immature bastards - might say "That's just Darwinism at work." I cannot agree. Thoughtless planning is putting pedestrians - and those who are unlucky enough to hit them - at risk.

[TheNiche]

Thought this topic could use a bump, probably because it happened to me again today. There's really nothing quite like walking a quarter mile to discover that the sidewalk ends in the middle of nowhere, for no particular reason.

So what does one do? Walk on the edge of a road where cars whizzing by at sixty miles per hour? Or slog (in one's good shoes) through ruts, mud, grass and assorted debris? Turn around and meekly walk an extra mile or two, because a few hundred feet of sidewalk wasn't installed?

Reports of pedestrians being killed on Houston's freeways occur with sickening frequency. Some people - well, heartless, intellectually immature bastards - might say "That's just Darwinism at work." I cannot agree. Thoughtless planning is putting pedestrians - and those who are unlucky enough to hit them - at risk.

The sidewalks along feeder roads are meant to make it easier for people to walk to the next overpass rather than to attempt to cross main lanes. People get struck on freeways with sickening frequency because people take stupid chances with their lives with sickening frequency. I've seen people sprint across lanes of traffic on many occasions, especially late at night. They don't seem to do it so much during the day, probably because they know that there's a good chance that they'd be caught by police. I find it very difficult to take pity on or make a major investment to protect someone who holds their own life in such low regard. What is life worth if it is not valued by he who lives it?

EDIT: I also support a right to doctor-assisted suicide. This isn't a social Darwinism stance. It's about acknowledging an individual's right and ability to live, value, control, and risk their own life and acknowledging the implication on the cost-benefit analysis of pedestrian bridges over freeways or other such infrastructure.

Edited February 24, 2009 by TheNiche

[JLWM8609]

I find it very difficult to take pity on or make a major investment to protect someone who holds their own life in such low regard. What is life worth if it is not valued by he who lives it?

EDIT: I also support a right to doctor-assisted suicide. This isn't a social Darwinism stance. It's about acknowledging an individual's right and ability to live, value, control, and risk their own life and acknowledging the implication on the cost-benefit analysis of pedestrian bridges over freeways or other such infrastructure.

The freeway crosser may have wanted to die, but I'm pretty sure the driver of the car/truck/bus who couldn't swerve or brake in time didn't wake up that morning saying "Gee, I think I'll unwillingly help someone commit suicide!" The freeway crosser may not value their life, but I value not assisting some stranger in their suicide, and I also value not damaging my car!

[TheNiche]

The freeway crosser may have wanted to die, but I'm pretty sure the driver of the car/truck/bus who couldn't swerve or brake in time didn't wake up that morning saying "Gee, I think I'll unwillingly help someone commit suicide!" The freeway crosser may not value their life, but I value not assisting some stranger in their suicide, and I also value not damaging my car!

Good point.

[westguy76]

The entrance to our neighborhood is a grand four lane street with an esplanade. The street is about 1/4 of a mile long and has landscaped trees similar to many Sugar Land neighborhoods. Every day I watch at least a hundred kids cross over FM1464 from Bush High into the neighborhood, only to have to walk into the street due to no sidewalks. Dozens of kids also walk down FM1464 to get to neighboring subdivisions. So many walk in the ditch that there is a beaten foot-path visible from the road. Oh, for those that don't know the area, FM1464 is a two lane road with ditches on both sides.

Rediculous.

Since this topic has been bumped, I think in Jeebus's neighborhood, if I am not mistaken, that sidewalks are now installed along the boulevard in his community, also 1464 is finally being widened and will include sidewalks in this portion.

I live in Cinco Ranch and I must say it is just not true that we do not have sidewalks that and the trails along bayous and through landscaped pipeline esmts are some assets of living out here.

[sidegate]

Sidewalks are great of course but if you have sidewalks they have to be maintained to be, y'know, walkable. The City of Houston has yet to fully grasp that concept. Apparently there are "excess funds" available to bump up people's credit scores, but not to address the woeful state of some of its sidewalks. They would put towns in the rural West of Ireland to shame, and I know that because I lived there.

[Reefmonkey]

Why do these damn developers or powers-that-be blatantly or arrogantly ignore the factor of non-vehicular commuters or pleasure pedestrians? It's not exactly safe to be a cyclist on these types of open roads either.

I don't know how true it is, I have heard it said that back in the 60s or even before, HUD and/or its predecessor required that any community or development that accepted HUD funding had to have sidewalks, or anyone buying a home using a government assisted housing loan had to buy in a neighborhood that had sidewalks. Developers who wanted to market subdivisions as "upscale" omitted sidewalks, because that would signify to people looking to buy into that neighborhood that no HUD money was used and/or no low income people using gov't assisted housing loans could buy into that neighborhood. A very visual cue that only the "right kind of people" lived in that neighborhood.

Like I said, though, I don't know how true this is, it may be an urban myth.