[Random inner north footpath after rain]
so, with all these new-fangled action routes and those new-fangled bike lanes to entice people to take buses or ride their bike rather than take their foul polluting evil satanic car, you might in a moment of quiet rumination imagine that the powers that be might also consider having people walk, yes walk – you remember that activity, don’t you? came right after ‘crawl’ – instead of using a foul tintop…
well, braving the inclement weather today i bravely strode alongside the city’s pre-eminent thoroughfare, the salubrious and immaculately paved northbourne avenue and its swank clearly-marked lanes for bicycle use only, to find i had to hop across puddles, brave the slippery terrain of the mud off-path, or even clamber along a wall outside a commercial building, to avoid the puddles and other pitfalls of the poorly maintained pedestrian access along that route into town.
from other recent experience, the footpath alongside limestone avenue is in a similar state of disrepair, as is the bit of path i recently walked along canberra avenue by manuka. this makes riding a cycle along the paths, rather than on the roads, along mahor arterial routes where there is no corollary bike path a bit problematic – and i am not going to commit myself to riding in that traffic…
maybe, if there were some enticing and accessible paths, more of this city’s fair populace might be enticed to leave the car behind and take a stroll more often. or, more likely in the words of mssr kerrigan, “tell ‘im ‘e’s dreamin’…”
what do we need to do to get the footpaths seen to?