Pedestrians and Joggers Beware: Watch your step! In a humble effort to enlighten the Montclair Police Department as to why people may choose to walk on the street in areas where a sidewalk is available, I will elucidate a few of the most compelling reasons why people may chose to abandon the sidewalks.
The mere presence of a sidewalk does not imply that it is suitable for walking, jogging or pushing a stroller. One condition that seems to be ubiquitous throughout our community are the raised and uneven segments of sidewalk This presents not only an annoying problem for those pushing strollers, but it also presents the risk of injury to walkers and runners alike. Secondly, overgrown, thorny shrubs and low hanging branches have become an obtrusive presence along the sidewalks. Unless one chooses to run the risk of injury by thorn or branch, a reasonable person will choose to avoid the risk of injury by walking in the street. Other sidewalk annoyances deserving of mention are the scattered trashcans, which inevitably find their way into the middle of the sidewalk, and the landscapers who blow lawn debris onto and across the sidewalks.
These are the reasons why pedestrians choose to take it to the streets. In light of such hindrances, it hardly appears reasonable that we be deemed “lawless” and thereby punishable. Therefore, let this be my plea to the Montclair Police Department, we pedestrians who elect to walk or jog reasonably along the curb and in the direction of on coming traffic, do not need an education in pedestrian safety, and even less do we need a municipal fine. Simply put, a desperate pedestrian is as a desperate pedestrian does.
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