Quick Post About Walking Safety
This post is brought out about as the result of two things. First, a post I saw on the Woodland Heights Yahoo Group;
Today (Thursday) about 10 a.m. I was driving west on Riverside Dr and was about to take a left onto 30th. Right at that point, at the top of the hill where Riverside curves sharply, were two women with a large baby stroller and two accompanying dogs, one especially large. They were walking with the direction of traffic west on Riverside IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAFFIC LANE.
Alright people, come on, use a little bit of common sense. While we are on the subject of Riverside Drive it is worth mentioning it is not a race track despite the exciting curves and wonderful views.
The second item is a request from a reader to remind folks that are walking late at night to use a reflective vest. It is hard to see you and the vest could make all the difference in the world. A flashlight is also a handy device when walking in darkness. I would like to not get into the whole “walking in the road” debate if we could because we have beaten that particular horse to death more than once.
We moved to Westover Hills in part because of sidewalks – I hated the idea of living in a community that discouraged walking. And yet no one seems interested in using them. Every day I have to drive around joggers, dog-walkers, baby strollers, and combinations of all of these in the middle of the street. What gives? Have we forgotten what sidewalks are for?
(Clearly I don’t mind beating the horse some more.)
As a runner, I always choose roads over sidewalks as pavement is easier on knees/hips. But I do move to the sidewalk when I see a car approaching.
Even just wearing lighter color clothing when walking after dark is helpful. :o)
Good question about the sidewalks. One reply is that because of the age of the neighborhood (and the trees), sections of sidewalk slab have lifted in hundreds of places, making the sidewalks very uneven. I confess to walking in the street (on side streets, not main roads)because I have have tripped so many times on uneven sidewalks (I’ve even fallen a couple of times and it’s not fun). My ankles just can’t take it any more.
Sorry Richard – just saw the part about not re-opening the “walking in the road” debate.
Depending on where you live in the area, you may not actually have sidewalks. Forest Hill Terrace was annexed sometime in the early 40s (if I remember rightly) and not everyone got sidewalks; I suspect the city offered them for a price. In my block, there are two or three houses out of twenty-odd that have sidewalk in front of them, and it stops dead at the property line.
I’m glad to see this post as I drive down Riverside every morning in the dark, about 6:30am, and daily see walkers/joggers in dark clothing, with no reflective vests or lights which seems rather idiotic to me
Because the sidewalks are so uneven is why. We have trees pushing them up and some are pebbled in disrepair. But I have run into a similar issue on Riverside Dr. near the train trestle. A young woman with a double stroller holding 2 very young children and a dog on a leash trying to go up the hill, against traffic, but at that uphill blind curve. Gave me the shivers. At rush hour….people need to choose times and places more wisely. And our residents and visitors need to adhere to the 25MPH.
I would LOVE to walk my baby in a stroller on a nice broad sidewalk.
I know we all love to drive, but not everyone can afford a car to get out.
we moms can barely control when nap time happens, and we’re supposed to bend to traffic patterns too? maybe the traffic should be more accommodating to foot traffic and we should get some actual sidewalk space on riverside.
ditto the forest hill comment, there are NOT always sidewalks, if you think there are you don’t walk around these neighborhoods enough.
Sidewalks are tough with a lot of strollers because they are so uneven that the baby gets jarred at about every other joint. Running on concrete is worse oh the joints than running on roads.
That said, reflective clothing and common sense are always productive when walking, strolling or running on roads. Face into traffic unless on a bike, this allows you to see what’s coming and closing distance on a walker or runner is usually long enough for you and/or a driver to react.
I have seen the moms mentioned in this article. They were in the middle of the road, side by side with the dogs/strollers and heading up the curve on Westover Hills where it leaves Riverside. I don’t generally even jog that stretch at night with a reflective vest because there is so little reaction time and space to get over. No one is doing the babies a favor putting them into danger by walking along a dangerous stretch of road without at least trying to minimize your exposure to traffic.