The sidewalks in Austin drive me crazy.

Or more precisely, the lack of them. The inconsistency of them.

This picture is a case in point; it's along the access road along westbound 290, where Ben White and South Lamar blur.  I'm standing in front of Central Market Westgate, looking back where'd I'd passed. There is a sidewalk along Ben White, and a side walk along 290 at this point, but they skipped this section, for whatever reason. Interestingly, they do have a sidewalk that goes from this point up to the access road (horizontally), where there is no place for a human to walk to without being in the road.


Another example is partial sides.  This second image is of the bus stop on southbound Packsaddle pass, between Ben White and Western Trails.  Notice that the sidewalk and the curb are higher than the grass. It's prime tripping scenarios, although better since they moved the bus stop sign (the metal bowl is a different sign).  Beyond this section, to the end of the block, there is no sidewalk. Across the street, on the Western Trails eastbound side, there is also no sidewalk, for about one property length.  Austin likes having sidewalks on only one side of residential streets (if they have sidewalks at all).

This is typical Austin.

I happen to like walking, and most of the time it doesn't bother me that I don't drive (never have, probably never will).  In the days with gas prices at over $3 a gallon, I'm not contributing to traffic congestion and carbon footprints.  Back in Boston, it was fast and easy to get around by mass transit.  And everywhere there were sidewalks.  I'd walked from Boston Harbor near the Aquarium to my home in Jaimaca Plain (near the pond) once or twice, without ever not having a nice, wide sidewalk.  So I resent the fact that it's not always easy to take a walk in Austin. 

Downtown it's not so bad, but beyond the city center, it's catch as catch can. On one South Austin street near me, they did an 'improvement' project where they tore up sidewalks at driveways to make them angled and not curbed. Only it was only on once side, but the sidewalks narrowed at the driveways, making them look like cement angels. It not only looks strange, but it means no more than one person can walk on them at those points.  A wheelchair couldn't without risking getting stuck. 

Thankfully, but for that small, still flat section, the walk from my place to the Sunset Valley Farmers' Market is all sidewalk.

The Farmers' Market theme for me today was Diary Decadence.  I now have unpasteurized yogurt, cream, butter, and feta waiting for me to whip them up into artery clogging meals.  I think it would be absolutely perfect if they had fishmongers there. 

So envy me when I enjoy my strawberries with homemade whipped cream that went from the cow to the farmers' market to my table, and no distribution center or pasteurizing process in between.   And yes, I walked it home. On sidewalks.