We Need Safer Walkways in Woodland Park to the New University Avenue Pedestrian Overcrossing
Woodland Avenue is currently unwalkable in certain parts going westward towards University Ave.
In past blog posts, I have written about the new exciting University Avenue Pedestrian Overcrossing that is currently under construction.
Christopher Kao
Christopher Kao
In this blog post, I want to point out the lack of safe walkways in the Woodland Park neighborhood to get to the amazing new pedestrian bridge. Let me show you a video and some photos I took on my walk along Woodland Avenue from Woodland Ave & Newell Rd to Woodland Ave & University Ave.
Here is a video I took to document the existing walkability conditions.
I started my walk on Woodland Ave & Newell Rd, going westbound towards University Avenue. Here on Woodland Ave going after passing Newell Rd, the sidewalk on the north side of the road is in good condition and separated from cars. I feel safe and am enjoying my walk.
A couple hundred feet later, I am still on Woodland Ave, now around halfway between Newell Rd and Cooley Ave. The sidewalk has ended. I see a fire hydrant and several perpendicular parking spots. One of the pick up trucks is longer so I will have no choice but to walk onto the road.
After less than 100 feet, the sidewalk re-emerges and I can move to the sidewalk. I feel safe walking again since I am not on the street. (Note that these images are screenshots from a video I took by bike since I had forgotten to take photos at some points during my walk).
Still seeing a sidewalk as I pass 1717 Woodland Arms.
A bit further, the sidewalk ends again.
I walk in the middle of the road past 3 cars. There is still no sidewalk in site, but at least I can move off the center of the road for a bit.
Once I pass the next car, I see the Woodland Ave & Cooley Ave intersection. I realize there is no sidewalk still.
Remember that I am taking this screenshot from the video above while on my bike. If I were a pedestrian, I would be walking closer to the Stop sign. However, note that there is no delineated crosswalk line and west of Cooley Ave there is still no sidewalk.
I feel safer now though because at least I see space on the right where I can walk. It's not a paved sidewalk and there are leaves and uneven surfaces (and maybe motor oil from cars that park there), but it is much better than the last several hundred feet before reaching Cooley Ave.
Around 100 feet later, it gets especially bad where I see the "walkway" end. There is a lot of vegetation blocking the path, and I am in the middle of a blind corner as I cannot see incoming cars in front of me. I turn around and also cannot see incoming cars behind me.
I have found myself at a blind corner with no sidewalk / dirt path on the right side of the road. There is a dirt right of way on the other side of the road, but if I try to cross it cars will not see me while making the blind corner turn. Should I risk my life and cross the street? Should I continue walking on this side of the road, literally on the road where cars aggressively turn the blind corner? Or should I give up, turn around, and get in a car?
I decide to risk it and continue walking in the middle of the road, hugging close to the right. After the turn, the right of way reappears.
I will pause some narration and let my pictures speak for themselves.
Finally, I have reached the stop sign where Woodland Ave intersects with Scofield Ave. I can see University Ave in the distance, but it looks like I need to follow a path which will not be on an elevated sidewalk. I also cannot cross the road as there is no crosswalk.
I pan my head to the right. Still no signs of a crosswalk to cross to the other side of Scofield Ave / Woodland Ave. My heart drops as I notice that there is also no sidewalk on this south side of Scofield Ave / Woodland Ave. "Next time I will try taking this Scofield Ave route," I think to my self, because I do not want to risk my life walking on Woodland Ave again.
Conclusion
In this blog post, I have shared my firsthand experience walking (and biking) on Woodland Ave from Newell Rd to Scofield Ave. It is currently not a pleasant experience, and I would love to make it better so that Woodland Park residents can have a safe way to access our upcoming University Avenue pedestrian / bicycle overcrossing.
