If I were Queen of the Universe... and a random act of crowdsourcing-cum-reality-checking

(I've actually been meaning to post this for awhile, and keep forgetting. Nothing in particular prompted this post, except the thought: "...Oh, ...yeah. I've been meaning to post about that...")

If I were Queen of the Universe...

I would require all housing delevopers to provide as much evidence of support for pedestrian traffic (and pedestrian-speed traffic [wheelchairs and the like]) as they are currently required to provide for vehicular traffic.

And for me, that would mean that if there are houses in a row along a street, there would also be a sidewalk that would make it easier for the people who live inside those houses to walk around outside, and actually go places.

...According to Audrey, this is only necessary on streets where there are at least two lanes and through traffic at highway speeds, but not quiet, residential neighborhoods. Because in quiet, residential neighborhoods, "normal" people just walk with perfect ease on the shoulder of the road, and it would be just as safe for me to use the shoulder of the road, if I got a tall bicycle flag for the back of my chair, so drivers in cars could see me.... But I think her view of reality is a little bit off.

Of course, up until I was 6 and 3/4, I lived in a quiet, residential neighborhood totally devoid of highway-speed traffic. And we had sidewalks. And people walked on the sidewalks, not on the shoulders of roads.

On the other hand, that was a long time ago (40 years). And maybe it is my view of reality that's off.

So I'm asking the "normal" walk-y people reading this (I think the majority of you are walk-y types): Do you, in fact, walk along the shoulder of roads in your daily life, and do you do so with perfect comfort and ease of mind? Or do you wish for a sidewalk?

"If I were Queen of the Universe..." Sidewalk (Pavement) follow-up post.

Okay, because I crossposted this from DreamWidth to Livejournal (my default, unless I'm doing a poll), I've got replies in both places. I'm rounding them up and counting them up (this was a not-poll poll, basically) and posting further comments here, so the two halves of my access / friends list can see each other. The snippets of replies are snippets, and taken out of context. To see what people said in the fullness of their own words, here are the links to the reply threads at DreamWidth and at LiveJournal.

People who live in capri0mni's reality.

1. jesse_the_k: Yes, I'll travel in the road (against traffic) if I absolutely have to, but I hate it.
   
   
2. meloukhia: I'm pidedal and I *loathe* being forced onto the shoulder with a passion.
   
   
3. spiralsheep: Human beings deserve pavements as much as cars deserve roads.
   
   
4. rob_t_firefly: I can comfortably walk on the shoulder [...] However, I vastly prefer sidewalks where available.
   
   
5. daibhid_c: Where I live, nearly everywhere has sidewalks/pavements. Most of the exceptions are busy highways...
   
   
6. (LiveJournal User with a f'locked journal): I walk where there's a sidewalk. If one side of the road has a sidewalk, and the side I'm on doesn't, I'll cross.
   
   
7. scarfman: Definitely prefer sidewalks.
   
   
8. pedanther: In my daily life, we have sidewalks. And where we don't have sidewalks, there's generally at least enough room on either side of the road for a person to walk without having to go into the road itself.
   
   
9. lizziebelle: I walk on the side of the road if I have to, but I much prefer the sidewalk.
   
   
10. elfycat: Our suburbs are partially not side-walked. In the day time, when it's bright, it's okay. [... ...] But yes, overall, sidewalks are clearly superior to the shoulder of the road.

People who live in Aide Audrey's reality:

1. blinovitch: If the shoulder is available, I walk on it without qualm. [...] I'm reasonably confident of using the shoulder in the daytime.
   
   
2. alto2: Where I am now, I think most neighborhoods have sidewalks, but I often prefer the road because it does not tend to have the issues sidewalks do; to wit, the tendancy for the individual sidewalk materials/tiles (for want of a better word [capri0mni's note: A better word is "pavers," perhaps?]), to have dips, cracks, etc. [...] Tarmac seems to handle such things much more gracefully than concrete.

---

Okay, so Audrey is not entirely insane; it seems that many of you (even those of you who prefer sidewalks) are able to walk comfortably along the shoulder of the road without an absolute, spine-quaking dread.

However, I am not entirely insane, either, and many of you agree with me that sidewalks / pavements are an attribute of an advanced, civilized society.

It seems to boil down to this: what you grew up with is what you consider normal and safe.

( My reply: A couple of notes (this got long) )