Sidewalk meeting doesn’t go so well … for the sidewalks

Some said even if sidewalks were
built, they’d still walk on street

They needed more chairs at a meeting about building sidewalks Monday.

City staff didn’t expect the turnout from the public, who came to listen to plans for building or extending sidewalks around town.

La Crosse city council president said having sidewalks in a city may make a residential area more “neighborhood-ly.”

The public comments, however, didn’t resonate with that view. Some comments made sense, others seemed a tad absurd, like those from a quiet area, who told the board that they were used to walking in the street, and might not use new sidewalks if they were built.

One north-side landlord said he sees no benefit to putting more sidewalks near Red Cloud Park. 

Another man, who works at the international business park near Highway 16, said there’s no point to having a sidewalk at that park, because there’s hardly any pedestrian traffic in that area.

Others argued there’s nobody at the park because there are no sidewalks around it.

Steve Geyer told the public works board that he feels “bullied” by the city’s plans for installing more sidewalks in the area near K-Mart, and he wants the process slowed down. The city’s plan would not charge residents for building the sidewalks.

A few people complained that new sidewalks would take away trees and grass.