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Private sidewalks are typically found in suburban style retail, office and multi-family developments. These sidewalks are internal to the development and are generally meant to serve as walkways between buildings or units within the development. These sidewalks may be located along internal drives, along retail storefronts, in open space areas and within parking areas. Private sidewalks are not along a public street, in a public park or any other public space.

 From a pedestrian’s perspective, private sidewalks should provide a direct and comfortable route between destinations on the property, to sidewalks on adjacent properties or the public sidewalk. The problem is that many properties do not have sidewalks that provide for such usage. In fact, oftentimes they fail to provide sidewalks that are of any use pedestrians at all.

 The initial problem is that many developments fail to adequately consider the pedestrian in their site planning. Such a lack of consideration results in poorly designed property layouts that can have numerous flaws in its sidewalk system.

 One site planning problem is that of indirect routes. Sidewalks that do not take a pedestrian in a straight forward and logical manner to their destinations are problematic for several reasons. For starters, indirect routes add time and increase exposure to the elements while making the trip. Consider a businessperson walking from one office building to another within the same office park for an important meeting. An additional three minutes of walking under a hot summer sun can easily change the mental and physical composure of that individual for the worse.

 Another problem with private sidewalks systems is that they are often incomplete or fragmented systems. In such situations, the sidewalks may be provided in one area of the development, but not in another. Also, the private sidewalks may not adequately connect to public sidewalks along the adjacent street. In both of these situations, it is common for sidewalks to stop at random points that do not correspond with the need of the pedestrian.

 Obstructed sidewalks are another problem in private developments. Obstructions such as poles and signs can make a sidewalk impassable to a pedestrian. Obstructed sidewalks and sidewalks without ramps are especially problematic for handicapped individuals. When any of the above problems occur, pedestrians are left to fend for themselves in landscaped areas or drives designed for car travel.

 One possible reason the above problems arise is that site planners do not anticipate that the sidewalks will be used. Thoughts like this can become a near self-fulfilling prophecy. Another rationale for inadequate private sidewalks is that they are designed for marketing and/or leisure purposes as opposed to creating a functional transportation system. Providing sidewalks in a development, however inefficient they may be is something that developers may be able to market to potential tenants. As for leisure, designers may be assuming that walking will only be done for leisure and not as a means of primary transportation between points within the development. This may be especially so in large office parks and similar developments.

 Another explanation for flaws in private sidewalk design is that designers have incorrectly made the assumption that the best route for people to walk is the same route that cars drive. This is a dangerous assumption because passengers in cars are less sensitive to things that a pedestrian will be such as the weather and exhaustion. The previously mentioned businessperson making way to meeting would agree; three minutes mean a lot more to a pedestrian than a driver.

 In any case, each problem represents an overall lack of consideration for pedestrians. While private sidewalks can have all the problems of public sidewalks and more; there are seldom any government regulations or funds to help reconcile the problems. In order to get developers to provide better private sidewalks; tenants, pedestrians and other users must step up and demand better sidewalks in private developments. These demands should be made towards the developers, building owners and local government representatives.

Case in Point
This example is of a retail development. Notice in the aerial how neither of the sidewalks along the entry drive fully continues into the development. In both cases, pedestrians are forced to fend for themselves. The building shown north of the drive is a coffee shop that attracts numerous pedestrians. As evidenced in the other photos, pedestrians lack a reasonable way to get from the street to the coffee shop. The man in the wheelchair would likely find navigating this development difficult and dangerous. (The aerial photograph is from GoogleMaps.)