City council to review walkway policy
Joel Hall looks forward to having grandchildren, but he feels uncomfortable with the prospect of hosting them at his Lawson Heights home.
Hall, who bought his home in 2001, said he is now considering selling because of the two walkways that intersect behind his house.
He said the walkways attract crimes like graffiti and other vandalism, as well as alcohol and substance abuse. He’s even found pornography along the walkway, which is owned by the city.
“They were a short-lived, failed experiment from the ’70s,” Hall told city council on Monday. “They’re a magnet for crime and they drag down property values.”
The walkways were designed to increase connectivity within neighbourhoods, but people who live adjacent to them complain they attract criminal activity.
Coun. Randy Donauer said he has about 20 walkways in his ward, which includes Lawson Heights, and about half have attracted the sort of issues Hall recounted. Donauer said a house in his ward caught fire recently from a blaze that was started in the walkway.
Hall said he applied to have the walkway closed 11 years ago, but was turned down by the city. The city changed the rules for walkway closures 12 years ago, but Donauer said that has made it tougher to close them.
Two other residents submitted comments to council about walkways. “Walkways are an integral component of pedestrian traffic infrastructure,” the city’s closure policy says.
Walkway closure requests must be related to a public safety concern and be made by an adjacent homeowner willing to purchase the walkway. After a homeowner asks for a closure, he or she must wait a year to see if the problem can be addressed.
Then a public meeting must be held to determine community support for the closure.
The application costs $2,000, with no guarantee of success; if the closure is successful, the purchase of the land from the city costs another $2,000.
A city map shows dozens of walkways, concentrated in neighbourhoods in the north, northeast, southeast and west side.
Walkways that have been identified as essential by the city are supposed to be inspected monthly, while secondary walkways are inspected every four months.
“We need to not abandon these residents,” Donauer said of the people who live next to walkways. He convinced his colleagues to unanimously support a review of the city’s walkway policies.
Coun. Darren Hill linked the problems to Saskatoon’s other crime issues. He pointed to the increase in gang activity and said the use of crystal methamphetamine is affecting every neighbourhood in the city.
“This is a very divisive thing in the neighbourhood and it pits neighbours against each other,” Coun. Bev Dubois said.
The city administration is expected to report back early next year.