Americans want walkable neighborhoods - NAR survey (Pittsburgh, Indiana: living, costs)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Of course at that point you are getting into the pre-car era.

So? The city (Beaver Falls) has sidewalks, and it's older yet (1868).

That's really funny. "It's the older suburbs that have sidewalks". "No, that suburb is *too* old for sidewalks."

[Craziaskowboi]

I can confirm that most suburban-style subdivisions around Athens, GA have no sidewalks. Whether it's suburbs without sidewalks, sports fanaticism, racism, bad weather, etc., can we please stop pretending that "it's a 'Burgh thing" when it's really not? Please?

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Whether it's suburbs without sidewalks, sports fanaticism, racism, bad weather, etc., can we please stop pretending that "it's a 'Burgh thing" when it's really not? Please?

Ha! Good point.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Katiana

So? The city (Beaver Falls) has sidewalks, and it's older yet (1868).

I know there are original cement sidewalks as old as the 1860s in some places. Of course, lots of places that did not have sidewalks originally later added them.

Generally, I wasn't claiming there were no sidewalks in existence in the 1890s, but lots of streets at that time weren't even paved, particularly if they were outside cities. If such streets had sidewalks at all, they might well be made of boards rather than cement.

The advent of widespread automobile use led to the widespread extension of paved streets into the rapidly growing suburbs. Meanwhile, it wasn't until the 1890s or so that the U.S. started producing a lot of its own portland cement (before that, a lot it was being imported). The "modern" sidewalk--made of poured concrete and elevated next to a paved road--thus only really started to become widespread in the early 20th Century, even though as noted they existed in some places somewhat earlier.

That's really funny. "It's the older suburbs that have sidewalks". "No, that suburb is *too* old for sidewalks."

I don't know if you are trying to make jokes, but I believe my statement was that it was a matter of "era". From the early 20th Century into the 1950s or so, the modern sidewalk was a standard feature of suburbs. As everyone in those various threads are noting, they somewhat fell out of favor for a couple decades, as suburbs were spreading out and becoming increasingly autocentric. They then started becoming more standard again in the late 1980s and on.

But again, that doesn't mean EVERY neighborhoods developed in the 1960s or 1970s lacked sidewalks, and they also could have added sidewalks since then even if they didn't have them originally.

[Impala26]

Hell, I'll take even wider shoulders in the Pittsburgh suburbs. I swear, there are cases on some MAJOR roads where the shoulder (beyond the white painted line) is about two feet wide. You can't run/walk on that and add rumble strips to that equation and that makes for some stressful cycling too.

[gg]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

That sounds like the RIDC Park in O'Hara Township. Thousands of people must work there, yet there isn't a sidewalk in sight. It makes absolutely no sense to me. I've made deliveries there before and feel sorry for the office workers who have to scurry around in the streets.

At lunch hour I notice that one whole lane of traffic is taken up by people walking and getting some air. It is sad there is no sidewalks there. At least around the main loop so people can walk at lunchtime.

[Impala26]

I grew up in Indiana Township near PA Rt.910. I find it funny that how just recently after the stretch has been resurfaced from the Rt. 28 interchange to Saxonburg Blvd. that its wide shoulders make a REALLY nice bike lanes. They're probably wide enough for safe walking/running as well. I just find this ironic because the speed limit on most of this stretch is 45mph and one would presume too high of a speed to be safe for such things, but the wide shoulders really make the difference. I think this is something other boroughs and townships should take note.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by stburr91

Because most people don't want to live in dense housing.

From the survey...

"Living in a single-family, detached home is important to most Americans. Eight in ten (80%) would prefer to live in single-family, detached houses over other types of housing such as townhouses, condominiums, or apartments."




I think we will start to see some of them change within next 10 years to include some mixed zoning.

Why no sidewalks? Where we lived in Vienna was ALL residential and every house had sidewalks. I don't understand why other suburbs wouldn't have sidewalks. Reston had walking paths everywhere.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Denton56

Why no sidewalks? Where we lived in Vienna was ALL residential and every house had sidewalks. I don't understand why other suburbs wouldn't have sidewalks. Reston had walking paths everywhere.

$$$. It seems like if something that would improve their quality-of-living costs one dime Pittsburghers don't want it.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Katiana

That's really funny. "It's the older suburbs that have sidewalks". "No, that suburb is *too* old for sidewalks."

Sidewalks are one of those things that go in and out of fashion. The current group demands them, but their children will want just the opposite. And so on and so on. It makes sense to me that older neighborhoods wouldn't have them, but neighborhoods even older than that would.