Richmond is known for its notorious drivers, but if you’ve ever tried to avoid the road by walking in the city, you might have encountered another conundrum — the sidewalks.
Walking in Richmond is a little like playing an open-world game for the first time. Despite having a view of the area on Google Maps with clear directions, you’ll find yourself spinning like a top trying to find a walkable path when the sidewalks inevitably reach an abrupt end.
For example, only experienced walkers would know to walk through the Lansdowne parking lot when walking down Alderbridge Way past McDonald’s, where there are no sidewalks at all.
And they would know not to walk down the little path on the side of the parking lot, as it is just a small patch of concrete that leads to nowhere.
All this is not to say Richmond is unwalkable. There are plenty of nice areas to walk in — River Road, Garden City Lands and the wide sidewalks along No. 3 Road. But the case of the vanishing sidewalks continues to confound Richmondites.
In fact, 65 per cent of Richmond News readers have had to search for sidewalks while walking in the city, according to a recent poll.
Other sidewalk-less areas include Steveston Highway after Palmberg Road, with “double dump trucks speeding both ways,” and the Olympic Oval.
“There never were sidewalks [near the Oval], but they’re needed now!” said one reader in response to the News’ Instagram survey.
Only 14 per cent of readers responded that they had no problem walking in the city, and 13 per cent of readers mostly drive rather than walk.
Pavement paving problems
So what’s the deal with these perplexing paths?
It all starts with the placement of sidewalks when an area gets developed, which is a complex issue “determined by many factors,” said Clay Adams, city spokesperson.
Simply put, the reason why sidewalks don't exist in some areas is that they weren't considered a necessity at the time of development.
The need for a sidewalk is determined by the city’s engineering and transportation departments, and safety is at the top of their priority.
“Some communities such as those on Richmond’s west side do not have consistent sidewalks as they were not a requirement or deemed necessary at the time they were developed,” he said, adding that sidewalks are often required in zoning or building applications for newer developments.
If you think about it, sidewalks can be seen as a road map of how the city of Richmond has evolved over the years.
Other than safety, layouts of sidewalks are also an accessibility issue. For example, a small section of the Lansdowne parking lot has a bona fide sidewalk created by years of Richmondites trekking through the roadside flowerbeds. The lumpy dirt path is not the easiest to walk through for those with mobility issues, and it could be dangerous on rainy days.
“The city recognizes that accessibility remains a challenge in some areas and we continue to work with developers to create or upgrade sidewalks where we can,” said Adams.
Adams confirmed that the city is aware of concerns raised about sidewalks around Lansdowne, and they will be addressed as redevelopment continues.
“Anyone who feels a sidewalk is essential to safety can contact the city and staff can follow up to determine feasibility, need, etc.,” he said.
Richmond News polled 525 Richmond News readers and asked the question: Have you ever found yourself looking for sidewalks in Richmond?
The poll ran from 7/19/2022 to 8/8/2022. Of the 525 votes, we can determine that 153 are from within the community. The full results are as follows:
Results are based on an online study of adult Richmond News readers that are located in Richmond. The margin of error - which measures sample variability - is +/- 4.27%, 19 times out of 20.
Richmond News uses a variety of techniques to capture data, detect and prevent fraudulent votes, detect and prevent robots, and filter out non-local and duplicate votes.
