closed #153534
Sidewalk Requests
925-989 South Woodlawn Avenue
- Case Date:
- 6/15/2016
I am a pedestrian who commutes to work about 1.3 miles northbound on Wooodlawn Monday-Friday. Usually I scurry quickly up that street as I'm running late; sometimes I jog. But once I get to the part of Woodlawn that borders Bryan Park, I am loathe to get myself onto the park trail during my hasty commute for a few reasons: 1. The Bryan Park trail is a park trail, not a sidewalk. 2. This trail doesn't go straight northward, so it is a waste of my time to follow it. 3. My commute is at 7:15am when few people are out, making things unnecessarily scary for trail users when I'm quickly approaching them from behind. This is especially true during colder months when it is dark out, and also when I'm carrying my umbrella, which looks not unlike some sort of a weapon. (Its just an Ikea umbrella.) This morning I was yelled at for the second time by another motorist who was displeased with my choosing to walk on Woodlawn Avenue northbound past Bryan Park. "There's a sidewalk over there!" he shouted. I had wanted to correct him and point out that its a park trail, but I didn't. Who knows which maniac who shouts at pedestrians from their car isn't more dangerous, you know? It would be great if there were a sidewalk that ran alongside Woodlawn Avenue past Bryan Park. I'm not the only person who chooses to walk up the road instead of the park trail, but I admit that there are not many of us, at least at 7:15am. Let me end by saying that I am not holding out hope for a sidewalk; this probably isn't a great concern for the city. But I can't guarantee that annoyed motorists will convince me to change my path, either. In any case: thank you for reading and considering my request. Have a nice day. Nicholas Roberts