Opinion

SIDEWALKS: SOMETHING USEFUL TO ARGUE ABOUT

guest opinion

by Gary Howe

“The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place, and in any one place is always replete with new improvisations.” — Jane Jacobs

There’s always something to quarrel about when it comes to town planning. People seem inclined to disagree with their neighbors. We argue about who said what, this building or that building, and how much drinking is enough, ignoring that all this arguing likely leads to more drinking.

Sidewalk construction is not immune to the inevitability of bickering and discontent. We argue about placement, routes, cost, and what gets moved — or doesn’t. I have my favorite arguments, like this common one against more sidewalks: “But people will walk in front of my house!” Oh, the humanity. There’s a long list of pro-sidewalk arguments that boil down to this: Sidewalks transform streets and neighborhoods. They instantly create a comfortable route to favorite places — coffee shops, grocery stores, parks, and schools. With a new sidewalk in place, we create a space for play, gossip, and walking the dog. By design, sidewalks invite people to move and stay active — right out the front door. This activity leads to improved health and a safer, more welcoming community. On Halloween, the neighborhoods with the widest sidewalks and most oversized treats attract all sorts of bipedal creatures. The neighborhoods without sidewalks … ? Not so much.

Recently, the City of Traverse City celebrated six years of concerted effort in sidewalk building. Since 2016, the city has constructed over 20 miles of new sidewalks at a cost of over $7 million. That’s roughly $380,000 per mile. A wise investment considering a concrete sidewalk will realistically last 50–80 years. The city’s work combined sidewalk preservation with gap infill, going into parts of town that have been underserved for decades. As a result, places like the Traverse Heights neighborhood now have nearly an entirely complete grid of sidewalks. Spanning outward from the elementary school, sidewalks directly connect to points in all directions. The library on Woodmere, the grocery store on 8th Street, and numerous businesses on Garfield Avenue are now linked together by sidewalks for people on foot or rolling in a wheelchair. In addition, sidewalks connect the neighborhood to Boardman Lake, where the Boardman Lake Loop will be completed next spring. That’s a lot of new opportunities to get out for a break, see the community, and get stuff done without having to walk in the middle of a street.

The staff and elected officials of Traverse City deserve a lot of credit for budgeting in our community’s values. For many years, the city only constructed sidewalks when property owners were willing to pay all or most of the cost. It’s easy to see why this plan didn’t get us anywhere near a complete sidewalk grid. It would have taken generations to put in over 20 miles of sidewalks at the pace we were going.

But there was a shift in thinking. It happened because citizens spoke up, participated in the master planning process, walked along on walking audits, voted for representatives who prioritized walking and rolling, and held those representatives accountable. The nonprofit I work for, Norte, partnered with the city on a $2 million Safe Routes to School grant that paid for 3.2 miles of sidewalk, crosswalk enhancements, paths, and bike lanes. Positive community improvement takes all of us chipping in and doing our part. Twenty miles of new sidewalks is a big deal, but we have miles and miles to go. The old slow-motion plan is still the norm for most government bodies, despite increasing density and demand. Garfield Township, for instance, requires sidewalks with most new construction but doesn’t build sidewalks to complete the resulting disjointed and incomplete sections. As a result, people limp along in inhospitable environments like South Airport Road, Garfield Avenue, and North Long Lake Road. The well-worn footpaths adjacent to streets show the results. Our streets connect residential neighborhoods to countless businesses and services, but you’re only invited in if you’re coming by car. If you’re on foot or in a wheelchair, it’s up to you to figure it out. We can do better, and people can demand better from their local government. Investments in sidewalks are certainly not immune from controversy in a community like ours, where everything is hotly contested. But it’s a debate worth having. Sidewalks are critical infrastructure that create safe, comfortable, and adaptive spaces in the community where interesting connections can happen for people of all ages. So, let’s have this good argument in more places than just Traverse City. What is your local government doing to build sidewalks? Gary L. Howe is the advocacy director at Norte, working to help communities walk and roll by design. He also was a city commissioner for Traverse City from 2013 to 2017.

The staff and elected officials of Traverse City deserve a lot of credit for budgeting in our community’s values. For many years, the city only constructed sidewalks when property owners were willing to pay all or most of the cost.

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Space Invasion

Forget a “rude” awakening -- this one verges closer to “terrifying.” Ruth Hamilton of Golden, British Columbia, told CBC News that she woke up on Oct. 4 to her dog barking. “The next thing was just a huge explosion and debris all over my face,” she said. After realizing something had punched a hole in her ceiling, she called 911. While answering the operator’s questions, she moved a bed pillow and discovered a “melon-sized space rock” that must have landed inches from her head while she slept. Peter Brown, a physics and astronomy professor at Western University in London, Ontario, confirmed the rock was “certainly a meteorite,” but will require further study to determine its exact origins.

Out on a Limb

A police standoff that began on Oct. 6 finally came to an end more than 48 hours later, as a man wanted in connection with an assault case climbed down from the tree he had taken refuge in. When police arrived at the Queens, New York, home of Roody Thomas, 44, in response to a call about a domestic dispute during which Thomas threatened his mother, Thomas climbed out of a second-story window and onto his roof. He then leapt from the roof into a 30-foot spruce tree, where he spent two uncomfortable nights. According to Fox 5 NY, a negotiator was ultimately able to talk Thomas into leaving his perch. Thomas, who had a warrant out for his arrest for allegedly punching his girlfriend on Sept. 30, surrendered to police and was sent to a hospital for evaluation.

Sprinklegate

Don’t mess with a man’s sprinkles. The owner of a U.K. bakery went viral for ranting about regulations that are cutting into his bread and butter -- or rather his cake and frosting. Rich Myers, 32, of Leeds, can no longer sell his most popular items because they featured “illegal sprinkles” imported from the United States. The sprinkles contained an additive called E127, which has been linked to “hyperactivity disorders and tumors in rats,” reports the Mirror. An anonymous customer tipped off West Yorkshire Trading Standards, the local regulatory agency, about the infraction. Myers swears he won’t switch to the approved sprinkles from his home country, claiming they don’t hold their colors during the baking process. “If I can’t use (the imported sprinkles), I won’t use any,” he said. “I will be on sprinkle strike and won’t budge for no man.” The contraband goodies aren’t exactly hard to come by, he added: “We buy them from a shop in London, so it’s not like we’re getting them from a cocaine haulage in Mexico.”

Where’s Wally

An Arctic walrus who found fame this summer after touring the coasts of Spain, France and the U.K. was feared dead after he disappeared from West Cork, Ireland, in late August. But fans of Wally the walrus can breathe easy: The Independent reports that the intrepid wanderer was recently spotted off the coast of Iceland. Wally became famous for launching himself onto the decks of (empty, docked) boats, sinking several, as he stopped in various European harbors to rest during his travels. Wildlife organizations even created special pontoon “couches” for him to nap on. Wally appears to be in good health and is expected to make his way to the Arctic to begin his search for a mate once he’s rested and built up some blubber for the trek.

Pain in the Neck

For the last two years, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have been witness to a bizarre wildlife sighting: a bull elk roaming the wilderness with a tire around its neck. CNN reported that CPW officials had been monitoring the elk since it was first spotted in July 2019, and though the tire did not impede the animal from drinking or feeding, they grew concerned that the tire might get tangled in branches, fencing or the antlers of another elk. CPW officers received a community tip on the elk’s whereabouts on Oct. 9 and were finally able to tranquilize it and remove the tire -- which had 10 pounds of debris inside it -- after removing the elk’s antlers. “We would have preferred to cut the tire and leave the antlers for his rutting activity, but the situation was dynamic and we had to just get the tire off in any way possible,” CPW officer Scott Murdoch said. The elk is expected to make a full recovery.

One Person’s Junk ...

Go take a closer look at your garden gnomes: A Sudbury, England, couple was unknowingly using artifacts from ancient Egypt to decorate their garden. The pair of small sphinx statues went up for auction as the couple cleared out their home before a move. The couple had bought them at another auction 15 years prior, thinking they were 18th-century replicas, and expected to get a few hundred dollars for them. But when prospective buyers suggested the items could be actual Egyptian relics, bidding took off. An international art gallery ended up paying $265,510 for the sphinx statues. Auctioneer James Mander said the gallery owners determined the items are indeed authentic, although more study is needed to determine their exact age and provenance. “I wonder where they’ve been for the last 5,000 years,” Mander said.

Careful which old plate you’re using to microwave your hot dogs, kids. A dish found in the drawer of a Scottish country house fetched a staggering $1.7 million in an online auction held on Oct. 6, The Scotsman reported. A ceramics specialist working for auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull discovered the dish, which features a painting of Samson and Delilah by Nicola di Gabriele Sbraghe -- aka Nicola da Urbino, a 16th-century master of maiolica pottery. “As the auctioneer, it was a real joy to bring the hammer down at over 1 million pounds on this incredibly rare dish,” said Lyon & Turnbull Managing Director Gavin Strang.

Not Missing the Bus

Bus driver shortages have caused problems across the United States as students have returned to in-person learning, but when Ohio dad Sean Rogers Jr. saw his kids and their friends lacking transportation to school, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He borrowed a limousine from his father’s limo company, and is using the stretch ride to take kids to school in style. “I’m going to continue to do what I can do to help these families get their kids to school,” Rogers Jr. told Fox News. “If it gets to the point where, you know, the limo is not enough, then I would definitely pull a charter bus out and we’ll go from there.”