Petition shines light on lack of sidewalk
'We will squeeze it in,' says city about Borden Drive request
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A petition to build sidewalks on Borden Drive is getting attention.
Adam Vivian pulls his two daughters, Annabelle, 1, and Eleanor, 3, along Borden Drive. Vivian's wife, Kristen Luce Vivian, started a petition online to draw attention to the lack of sidewalks along the busy road. By press time, the petition had 427 signatures. - photo courtesy of Kristen Luce Vivian |
On Aug. 12, Kristen Luce Vivian posted a photo of her husband Adam Vivian pulling a wagon loaded with her two daughters, Annabelle, 1, and Eleanor, 3, along the side of Borden Drive to the city's Facebook page. With no sidewalks on that stretch of road, her family shares a lane with an oncoming car.
"Does this look safe to you?" she wrote in her post.
Soon after, Vivian, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 2012, launched an online petition to draw attention to the issue.
As of press time, it had gathered 427 signatures.
"I was surprised at how quickly it got a lot of interest," she said.
The stretch in question, on Borden Drive between Old Airport Road and Magrum Crescent, has just a gravel shoulder, with no formal sidewalk. Vivian said this particular stretch is especially dangerous because it can get very busy at times.
"We can always see people speeding through there, we hear the engines revving," she said. "My husband was almost run off the road once on his motorcycle because someone came around the corner towards Mary Brown's and lost control because they were going too fast. It's definitely an issue."
When the weather turns colder, she said the shoulder becomes impassable, leaving just the road to walk on.
When Vivian launched the petition, she didn't have a set goal in mind - she just wanted to gauge public interest in the issue. She said she's only heard from one person who wouldn't be interested in a sidewalk, with the rest of the feedback skewing in support.
Coun. Steve Payne, who lives in the neighbourhood, told Yellowknifer in an email he thinks the sidewalks are a great idea.
"My kids use that road a lot and it would be safer for them to be able to walk on a sidewalk," he stated.
Dennis Kefalas, director of public works and engineering said he was "very surprised" there weren't already sidewalks on that stretch of Borden Drive.
"I guess I've driven by a thousand times and never noticed it," he said "I think it's just something that was missed over the years."
Kefalas said the city plans to add the sidewalk project to the city's capital plan. When that will happen, he's not quite sure.
"I couldn't even give you a ballpark," he said. "Right now we're just going to determine what the cost is."
