A lot of candidates in this year’s CBRM election. It is nice to see our democratic process in action and so many people interested in trying to make our lives better. There’s probably a big wish list for all of these candidates. My wish is to have more sidewalks. Walkers, runners and mobility scooters have to constantly compete with motorized vehicles for the use of many roads in the CBRM that have no sidewalks. And in this competition there would only be one winner if a collision were to happen. Cars don’t give much in an impact. Now compound this competition in winter time when there are snow banks piled high on both sides of sidewalk-absent-roads, and people will either refuse to walk seeing the potential risk for injury, or take the risk and hope for the best. It shouldn’t be an option. It is at this time that walking could be considered an extreme sport. There really should be a law that any proposed subdivision requires sidewalks; or any road that has so many residences, or so many vehicles using a particular street require a sidewalk. I understand that we are desperate for cash in this area, and it’s getting harder to stretch a dollar, but what’s frustrating is when you see an older sidewalk in the area being replaced. Now I’m not up on all the infrastructure rules, or about different pots of money having to go here or there, or that right angles are supposed to run perpendicular to the sun rising…yadayadayada. I hate bureaucracy, like most people. But whatever the reason for this policy…..doesn’t it make you feel deep down, at a guttural level that this is just wrong. An old sidewalk is at least a sidewalk whereas a lot of streets have…none. So my wish is that the next CBRM council will make a concerted effort to make outdoor life a little more safe as we try to better our physical health and community involvement with this important piece of infrastructure The underappreciated sidewalk “..— protects us from traffic, connects us to neighbors, and proclaims our commitment to a healthier lifestyle. It’s what makes a walkable community walkable.” FROM Randy Garbin July 27, 2016 in the Bloomberg City Lab https://thecityfix.com/blog/8-principles-better-sidewalks-hillary-smith-paula-manoela-dos-santos/ https://www.capebretonpost.com/lifestyles/local-lifestyles/sidewalk-exercise-in-sydney-440865/