Where the Sidewalk Ends

Pace Shel Silverstein.

Mark Orton started the conversation about uneven sidewalks on Monday with a post on his blog criticizing the new sidewalk in front of Wunderbar and The Crimson Sparrow. The discussion of sidewalks was taken up at the meeting of First Ward residents on Monday night. Today, Orton has a new post on his blog calling for stricter code enforcement and "vigorous action by city officials": "Sidewalks in Hudson--Dangerous for Lack of Code Enforcement and Common Sense."

Having walked literally hundreds of miles over the same south side turf while walking William twice a day for the past thirteen years, I have a different take on the sidewalk situation. I think the sidewalks that are most successful, from a dog walker's point of view, are those that don't follow the code. They are the ones where the original bluestone has been reset or where new bluestone, a combination of bluestone and brick, or just brick have been installed. With a few exceptions, those sidewalks are at the same level as the sidewalks that they abutt at either end. What I fault is the code that requires six-inch curbs, thus pretty much ensuring that any new sidewalk will not be at the same height as the sidewalk that already exists.

Unless the City undertakes to replace all the sidewalk in neighborhoods whole blocks at a time, it's a fantasy to think that eventually all sidewalks will be of uniform height. Some of the sidewalks that are disproportionately high were clearly installed thirty or more years ago.

The code requirements for sidewalks seem to reflect the same yearning to make the city different from what it is that inspired the code requirements for setbacks. I was once told by someone who was involved in the process of adopting zoning back in the 1960s that the setbacks in the code, which are appropriate to a suburban setting but don't reflect what already exists in the majority of neighborhoods in Hudson, were deliberately adopted because it was believed (and hoped) that eventually all the old buildings would burn down or be demolished, the new buildings would be built farther back from the street, and the streets could be widened. 

Whether the solution to the sidewalk problem be enforcing the code or changing it, all the talk about sidewalks inspired me to take the camera along on William's morning walk yesterday and photograph some of the more striking examples of the sidewalk height change on our route.

Allen Street: 200 Block

Allen Street: 200 Block

Union Street: 300 Block

Union Street: 300 Block

Union Street: 300 Block

Union Street: 300 Block

Union Street: 300 Block

Union Street: 200 Block

Union Street: 100 Block

Union Street: 100 Block

Union Street: 100 Block

Union Street: 100 Block

Union Street: 100 Block




 

Union Street between First and Front

Union Street between First and Front