It was the sort of unintentionally funny moment that can only happen in small-town politics.
Several years ago, a candidate for Denare Beach village council made the rather innocent suggestion that the village consider installing sidewalks to enhance pedestrian mobility and safety.
The reaction among some villagers was reluctant to say the least. “Do you know how much sidewalks would cost?!” they asked, or some variation of that exacerbated query. You would have thought Denare Beach had just been asked to pave its back alleys with gold.
More recently – last week, in fact – came a suggestion that some sidewalks be installed in and around Channing to bolster safety, particularly for children walking (or biking) to and from the Flin Flon subdivision’s increasingly bustling beach.
Mayor Cal Huntley replied that sidewalks come down to dollars and cents.
“In a perfect world we’d love to have all our roads paved with beautiful sidewalks and a proper access and everything,” the mayor added. “I mean, what we can do is encourage people to really be careful if they are walking, and anybody that’s driving to be very aware.”
Both Huntley and the Denare Beach sidewalk opponents are correct. Money does largely dictate municipal decisions.
Still, it’s not as though additional sidewalks constitute some radical idea out of left field, especially in light of evolving patterns of foot traffic and societal demands for greater convenience and safety.
In the debate over sidewalks for Denare Beach and Channing, it is worth considering the words of Bianca Wheaton.
“Imagine living in a world with no sidewalks,” Wheaton, a resident of a sidewalk-less Pennsylvania neighbourhood, wrote in a 2011 opinion piece for Pennlive.com.
“Not only is not having sidewalks dangerous for children, it also is treacherous for elderly people. In my neighborhood, I often see elderly people walking in the street. I wish they had a smooth surface to walk on instead of the
busy and bumpy street.”
Again, the practicality of additional sidewalks locally is debatable. But it should be noted that advances in sidewalk technology (who knew there would be such a thing?) are making these road-hugging walkways more feasible.
Some municipalities in Canada and the US are turning to rubber sidewalks made from recycled tires. According to one report, rubber sidewalks cost about 33 per cent more than concrete, but they also last more than twice as long.
Additionally, the flexibility of the material is said to prevent the sort of heaving that leads to jagged chunks of concrete protruding from the sidewalks. Anyone who has walked or biked around Flin Flon knows this is a concern.
Whether or not more sidewalks are in the cards, area municipalities should investigate the potential of rubber sidewalks as an innovative, cost-saving and environmentally friendly solution.
Local Angle is published Fridays.
