Curb cuts to nowhere - part 3
The southwest corner of Markham Ave. and Washington St. has relatively recent sidewalk construction, with ADA compliant curb cuts for wheelchair accessibility. So if you're rolling south towards town, or west towards Duke St. and campus, you're OK.
But what happens if you're heading the other direction?
Looking north on Washington from the only sidewalk at the intersection of Markham and Washington.
Basically, there's nowhere to go if you're coming back from town, and no way to get to this intersection if you want to go to town. Just look at that sea of asphalt.
This is the block of Markham just east of Washington. Pushing a stroller or rolling a wheelchair? You're in the road.
When the city came to the voters and taxpayers back in 1996 and asked for approval of a couple of million dollars for sidewalks, the stated goal was to put a sidewalk on at least one side of each thoroughfare in the urban zone. This intersection is one mile from the Carolina Theatre, half a mile from Durham Central Park and the Farmers' Market. I kinda think it qualifies for needing sidewalks coming to it from all directions.
I don't know how many of you read blogs from other urban areas that talk about walkable communities. In this DC blog post, for example, the issue is whether zoning codes should encourage townhouse construction without street level garages, for instance. Durham, clearly, is not at that stage yet. Our city and county governments are still at the point where every new building in town gets a publicly funded parking deck. But the very first step toward creating walkable communities is, you guessed it, sidewalks and crosswalks and the infrastructure that makes walking (and rolling) practical and safe.
I don't want to say that not having the basic amenities for walkable streets leads to urban decay. It may be coincidence that this house, which was condemned earlier this year but has somehow, without any visible improvements being made, become habitable again, is located at the Markham/Washington corner.
Or this beauty, which is two doors down from the Markham/Washington intersection. Who knows, maybe it's actually a used appliance outlet.
Less than a mile from downtown. A major gateway to our city. Gotta love it.
Labels: Durham, Pedestrian safety
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2 Comments:
Yup, the best pedestrian option to go north from there (or to get there from points north) is the greenway path ~0.25 miles west (and less direct) which is, frankly, not an attractive option at night. (And I believe, not a legal option at night either, not that I anticipate much enforcement.)
I walked along that stretch of Washington once on a particularly pleasant Saturday morning to go from NGP to the farmer's market...suffice it to say I went back on the greenway.
By
Brian, at 5:59 PM
There are a couple of reasons why the lack of sidewalks on Washington especially is both disappointing and troublesome.
First is the proximity of Washington to Club Blvd Elementary school. Walking to school is a highly effective way of getting kids into the habit of walking throughout their lives, which has huge benefits for both individual health and the public health over time.
The second is that Washington is freakin' wide; more than wide enough to build a new sidewalk on either side of the street by coming into the road from the existing curb, and not taking anyone's right of way.
Alas, i can't imagine the city building sidewalks on Washington in my lifetime.
By
Barry, at 8:42 PM
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