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Sidewalks are in disrepair on Woodruff Avenue in the Old West End of Toledo.
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Sidewalks make a city

THE BLADE

Sidewalks make a city

A memo sent to Toledo City Council last week raised alarms for one of the city’s most essential public spaces: sidewalks.

The memo said there was expected to be no funding under the capital improvement program for replacing sidewalks in 2017.

City spokesman Janet Schroeder said the memo was “absolutely wrong.” The budget process is ongoing, she said, and sidewalks are a priority. Besides, she explained, CIP is just one of the ways the city pays for repairing and replacing sidewalks. Some sidewalks come out of other parts of the city budget. And some are replaced at the expense of individual homeowners, who are charged assessments.

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However the sidewalks get funded, they must be funded, and at a level that can give us quality sidewalks. Right now, many of our sidewalks are in unacceptably poor condition.

Sidewalks are a fundamental part of any city’s  transportation, and human, infrastructure. When you leave your car, bus, or bike, you normally use the sidewalk; everyone does. And for anyone, a broken sidewalk can be a nuisance that makes the city feel run-down.

For those with wheels — those who get around by wheelchair and those who push a baby stroller or pull a shopping cart — a broken sidewalk is more than a nuisance. It’s an obstacle, sometimes a serious one. Mikayla Garcia, 16, said she’s fallen out of her wheelchair; her mother said that in some places, the sidewalks are so bad Mikayla must use the street.

But the sidewalks are more than transportation infrastructure. They are a place where we encounter each other face to face. When we move in vehicles, we are isolated from each other.

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Sidewalks are right up there with police protection, fire protection, and decent drinking water, in terms of quality of life. Well maintained sidewalks build community. Broken sidewalks are like broken windows — they portend a community slipping toward decay and lack of self-respect. Grand Rapids, Mich., is currently making a major investment in sidewalks. 

The sidewalk, and the interactions the sidewalk makes possible, are among the things that make a city vibrant. Think of New York. Or Paris. 

Toledo must find the money to maintain and improve its sidewalks. If we give up on the sidewalks, we are giving up on the city.

First Published October 23, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

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