Where the Sidewalk Ends - Livable Oregon

By Elaine Friesen-Strang

September 4, 2014. Today is the first day of school at Mill Park Elementary in Southeast Portland. There are children in small groups running across the school’s front lawn. Others are approaching more cautiously, holding the hands of loved ones. If you are close enough, you might hear conversations in Russian, Somali, Burmese, Arabic, or 24 other languages. Over half of the 600 students who attend Mill Park speak English as their second language. These students bring a rich diversity of ethnicities and backgrounds to this neighborhood public school. The one thing they all have in common: they walked along the side of the road to get there. There isn’t a sidewalk in sight.

Flashing traffic lights near the school may be slowing cars a bit, but just blocks away, drivers are more intent on their own morning schedules than on the safety of pedestrians who have to share the road with them. The lack of safe, accessible walkways extends throughout the neighborhood; the City of Portland and Safe Routes to Schools have identified 53 areas within the school’s boundaries needing safety improvements, ranging from sidewalks to curb cuts. AARP has been a long time supporter of Safe Routes to Schools, because what benefits children, benefits us all. It becomes Safe Routes for Everyone.

Five years ago my father and his wife moved to a pleasant, affordable apartment in Mid-Multnomah County. He was 87, she was 83. They would frequently walk a couple of blocks to the neighborhood store for groceries. There was a stretch in that distance that lacked a sidewalk, making them choose between walking in a busy street, or on an uneven pathway. One day my step mother lost her footing, and while my father sacrificed the groceries in an attempt to help her, she hit the ground hard, injuring her hip. There are caring neighbors in this area, but with no connecting sidewalks, none were out walking. It still pains me to think of my father struggling to help his wife, looking for someone to assist them. My stepmother eventually recovered, but that fall marked the beginning of the end of their independence. Not long after, they moved to an assisted living complex.

There’s a children’s poem by Shel Silverstein where he asks his young readers to imagine a place where the sidewalk ends. His sidewalk doesn’t end half way down the block however, it ends at curbside, just “before the street begins”. It’s a carefree place where the concrete has completed its mission and opens into a mythical land of “moon-birds”, and “peppermint wind”. Think end of the rainbow or yellow brick road. The problem in Portland, and in many places, is our sidewalks end before we’ve come to our destination, posing risks, and complicating our travel. In some neighborhoods, the sidewalk hasn’t even begun at all, requiring its young residents to first imagine the sidewalk.

Cement poured into four foot wide framed walkways are pedestrian avenues. They help us get where we need to go in a way that is safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities. But they are more than a means of functional travel; they provide recreation, encourage healthy lifestyles, and are links for communities. They invite us out to explore, to walk with and greet others, and to occasionally leave our cars parked in the driveway. Sidewalks shouldn’t end too soon for the children at Mill Park, or older adults walking to their corner store. They should come to an end only when our journey, and our neighborhood, are complete.

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Welcome to Livable Oregon.

What makes a community livable? What do neighborhoods need to help people of all ages live active, engaged lives? Livable Oregon explores the features of age-friendly communities, the people who help create them, and what we can do to make our neighborhoods in Oregon a great place for everyone.

This blog takes its lead from the AARP Livable Communities Initiative which seeks to improve the quality of life for older adults by promoting the development of safe, accessible, and vibrant environments. AARP Livable Communities policies address issues such as land use, housing, and transportation which are vital to developing communities that facilitate aging in place.

About our lead blogger:

My name is Elaine Friesen-Strang . I understand the need for lifelong, livable communities as a mother who raised two children, a daughter who helped care for her father, a professional guardian who served adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and a woman who is experiencing the mixed blessings of aging. Volunteering for AARP and other advocacy organizations empowers me to help make my neighborhood and city a more livable, sustainable place for everyone.

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By Elaine Freisen-Strang

September 4, 2014. Today is the first day of school at Mill Park Elementary in Southeast Portland. There are children in small groups running across the school’s front lawn. Others are approaching more cautiously, holding the hands of loved ones. If you are close enough, you might hear conversations in Russian, Somali, Burmese, Arabic, or 24 other languages. Over half of the 600 students who attend Mill Park speak English as their second language. These students bring a rich diversity of ethnicities and backgrounds to this neighborhood public school. The one thing they all have in common: they walked along the side of the road to get there. There isn’t a sidewalk in sight.

Flashing traffic lights near the school may be slowing cars a bit, but just blocks away, drivers are more intent on their own morning schedules than on the safety of pedestrians who have to share the road with them. The lack of safe, accessible walkways extends throughout the neighborhood; the City of Portland and Safe Routes to Schools have identified 53 areas within the school’s boundaries needing safety improvements, ranging from sidewalks to curb cuts. AARP has been a long time supporter of Safe Routes to Schools, because what benefits children, benefits us all. It becomes Safe Routes for Everyone.

Five years ago my father and his wife moved to a pleasant, affordable apartment in Mid-Multnomah County. He was 87, she was 83. They would frequently walk a couple of blocks to the neighborhood store for groceries. There was a stretch in that distance that lacked a sidewalk, making them choose between walking in a busy street, or on an uneven pathway. One day my step mother lost her footing, and while my father sacrificed the groceries in an attempt to help her, she hit the ground hard, injuring her hip. There are caring neighbors in this area, but with no connecting sidewalks, none were out walking. It still pains me to think of my father struggling to help his wife, looking for someone to assist them. My stepmother eventually recovered, but that fall marked the beginning of the end of their independence. Not long after, they moved to an assisted living complex.

There’s a children’s poem by Shel Silverstein where he asks his young readers to imagine a place where the sidewalk ends. His sidewalk doesn’t end half way down the block however, it ends at curbside, just “before the street begins”. It’s a carefree place where the concrete has completed its mission and opens into a mythical land of “moon-birds”, and “peppermint wind”. Think end of the rainbow or yellow brick road. The problem in Portland, and in many places, is our sidewalks end before we’ve come to our destination, posing risks, and complicating our travel. In some neighborhoods, the sidewalk hasn’t even begun at all, requiring its young residents to first imagine the sidewalk.

Cement poured into four foot wide framed walkways are pedestrian avenues. They help us get where we need to go in a way that is safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities. But they are more than a means of functional travel; they provide recreation, encourage healthy lifestyles, and are links for communities. They invite us out to explore, to walk with and greet others, and to occasionally leave our cars parked in the driveway. Sidewalks shouldn’t end too soon for the children at Mill Park, or older adults walking to their corner store. They should come to an end only when our journey, and our neighborhood, is complete.

——————

Livable Oregon

What makes a community livable? What do neigh

borhoods need to help people of all ages live active, engaged lives? Livable Oregon explores the features of age-friendly communities, the people who help create them, and what we can do to make our neighborhoods in Oregon a great place for everyone.

This blog takes its lead from the AARP Livable Communities Initiative which seeks to improve the quality of life for older adults by promoting the development of safe, accessible, and vibrant environments. AARP Livable Communities policies address issues such as land use, housing, and transportation which are vital to developing communities that facilitate aging in place.

About our lead blogger:

My name is Elaine Friesen-Strang. I understand the need for lifelong, livable communities as a mother who raised two children, a daughter who helped care for her father, a professional guardian who served adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and a woman who is experiencing the mixed blessings of aging. Volunteering for AARP and other advocacy organizations empowers me to help make my neighborhood and city a more livable, sustainable place.

- See more at: https://states.aarp.org/livable-oregon/#sthash.B1mAUKJm.dpuf

Welcome to Livable Oregon.

What makes a community livable? What do neighborhoods need to help people of all ages live active, engaged lives? Livable Oregon explores the features of age-friendly communities, the people who help create them, and what we can do to make our neighborhoods in Oregon a great place for everyone.

This blog takes its lead from the AARP Livable Communities Initiative which seeks to improve the quality of life for older adults by promoting the development of safe, accessible, and vibrant environments. AARP Livable Communities policies address issues such as land use, housing, and transportation which are vital to developing communities that facilitate aging in place.

About our lead blogger:

My name is Elaine Friesen-Strang . I understand the need for lifelong, livable communities as a mother who raised two children, a daughter who helped care for her father, a professional guardian who served adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities, and a woman who is experiencing the mixed blessings of aging. Volunteering for AARP and other advocacy organizations empowers me to help make my neighborhood and city a more livable, sustainable place.

- See more at: https://states.aarp.org/?p=42444&preview=true#sthash.BCl0V3rB.dpuf