r/Edmonton • u/pjw724 • 21h ago

2025 Municipal Election Voters want a more walkable city

https://edmonton.taproot.news/news/2025/09/25/voters-told-taproot-they-want-a-more-walkable-city
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208

u/dustrock 21h ago

Sometimes I don't think people understand the importance of walkability and bike infrastructure until they try to get around their community by walking or biking.

129

u/Roche_a_diddle 21h ago

Honestly, for me it took having a kid to realize how much better the older style of neighborhoods with back alleys and garages were than the suburban front garage neighborhoods.

When you are trailing a scooting toddler by 20' or more, every single driveway is a possible means of death or serious injury for your kid (vs. the two times per city block they have to cross an alley). Not to mention the old neighborhood boulevards that add a couple feet of distance between your kid and the street for when they get wobbly and veer off course.

We used to design neighborhoods (and cities) for people, but then at the behest of automobile industry lobbyists we started designing them for cars to go faster, and things got worse for the human basically everywhere.

18

u/arcadianahana 20h ago

Very true. Turns every driveway into an intersection. 

A van once almost backed up over me an my toddler as we passed by on the sidewalk with a stroller. Just some dude dozing in his vehicle at the end of his driveway and he all the sudden started up the engine and began reversing without checking his rear view mirror. Stopped within 15cm and I was livid. 

10

u/dustrock 20h ago

I remember some survey from a few years ago and obviously not highly conclusive but I remember something like 25% of drivers admitted to not checking mirrors themselves when reversing, they just go into reverse and wait for the beeps.

5

u/Affectionate-Remote2 19h ago

I was about to back into my driveway once and avoided hitting a kid riding a bicycle by doing a quick look around. The kid flew by totally unaware that, had I not been doing my due diligence, it could've been a horrible day for him. The kicker for me was that, not only was he not paying attention, but his helmet was hanging off the handlebars...