The sudden end of sidewalks along empty lots in Phoenix, Arizona


I grew up in Minneapolis, in a neighborhood which had been built in the 1920s, and I took sidewalks for granted. There were no vacant lots, and nowhere that the sidewalk would just suddenly end. And then I moved to Phoenix, Arizona, which still has a lot of vacant lots, and although mostly the sidewalks are wonderful, and wide, just like the streets, where there's a vacant lot, the sidewalk ends.

My understanding about why there are no sidewalks along vacant lots, or unimproved parcels, is that the city only requires a sidewalk when the land is developed. And this makes sense, because back when the farmland on Thunderbird Road in Peoria, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix) where I took this pic this morning, was first developed from raw desert to agricultural land, having sidewalks all around it would have been a useless, and silly, expense. I don't know what Thunderbird Road looked like when that chunk of land which is still agricultural, looked like "back in the day", but my best guess is that there were no stripes on the road, no traffic lights, just paving, which was plenty.

But cities grow, and when sidewalks end, people are neglected. There are two options here, you can either risk yourself along the edge of the road, with car whizzing past you at high speed, protected only by a stripe on the road, or you can forge ahead through the dirt and weeds, which is what it looks like most people do. Of course, it's no place for wheelchairs, or people who have difficulty walking, and that seems an awful shame, because there's a bus stop right up there, which could serve this neighborhood.

I've seen compromises along vacant lots. Before the car wash went in at 67th Avenue and Cactus, there was at least an asphalt path, rough but at least accessible to people in wheelchairs, and to me on my trike. Now, of course, there are nice wide sidewalks, which is wonderful.

I've lived in this neighborhood for a long time, and I've used sidewalks, mostly for walking. When they suddenly came to a stop it was just a mild inconvenience back before my chronically-bad ankle. Now they're a barrier to me on my trike. So when I see some new construction, I rejoice. Sidewalks are wonderful!
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