The other night my wife and I were taking an after-dinner stroll around my neighborhood, which is pretty much in the heart of Silay City, when I commented to her that we are so fortunate to live in a decent area, even though we weren’t in a subdivision or township, or whatever it is those property developers like to call their products. And we thought of how easy it would be to make it even better, if only we had local officials with more ambition and imagination.
Nothing helps a resident appreciate their town more, or become critical of it, than taking a walk on its streets. To be fair to our town, the streets and whatever it is that can be called sidewalks, felt relatively clean and safe, and can probably pass the bare minimum standards of livability, or we wouldn’t consider ourselves fortunate to be there.
However, as we took our leisurely stroll around the neighborhood, we got to notice a few little things that if addressed, could’ve made a great improvement.
First of all was the quality of the sidewalk, which up to now, is still not very accessible. Like most sidewalks in the country, it was ok for able-bodied individuals, but anyone who was differently-abled, pushing a stroller or luggage, or on a wheelchair is going to have a hard time. The width varies constantly, depending on the utility poles and/or vegetation beside it. There are no ramps, or rules on how it should interact with driveways, so sidewalk users have to step up or down constantly, and those who rely on wheels are simply out of luck. In our case, the only saving grace was that the area had no street vendors, which kept the sidewalk relatively clear.
An audit of a city’s sidewalks, especially in its busy or showcase areas, shouldn’t be that hard. All one has to do is to walk it, whilst dragging luggage or pushing a stroller, and see how easy or difficult it is to use, without having to get off it and use the road instead. All those points where it becomes difficult for the tester have to be noted down and recommendations made for easy improvements which won’t cost that much, especially if compared to flood control projects. However, despite that, there seems to be no stretch of public sidewalk in this country that is easily and continuously walkable for more than 500 meters.
The other thing we noticed, since it was a night time stroll, was the lack of proper street lighting, which should be another easily addressed issue but somehow remains a problem. Even if we felt relatively safe, it would’ve been much better if the streets were well lit. Maybe the streets being tree-lined made lighting a challenge, but that shouldn’t be an excuse as there should be many creative solutions available.
Tree-lined streets are nice because they are pretty and provide shade during the day, but they can also pose challenges. One is that they can make sidewalks narrower as they grow taller or wider, the other is that they can make lighting up the area at night more challenging. However, that is a problem I would rather have if I were a city official, as barren sidewalks are worse. Finding elegant yet affordable ways to light up tree-lined streets that would make communities even more beautiful, day or night, is a nice problem to have, if you come to think of it.
If it weren’t for the unwalkable and dark sidewalks, our after dinner stroll would’ve been much more pleasant. Not to say it was unpleasant, because I have long considered myself fortunate to live in a city that is pretty, peaceful, and has lots of potential to be even better, even magical, if only it had the right leadership. The only problem is that there doesn’t seem to be any effort or determination to level up anymore, and ‘just ok’ is already fine for them.
It is quite bittersweet how most of Silay’s town center is already a nice place, because there is so much potential that has not been reached, despite needing just a few more deliberate and well thought out improvements to make my hometown shine.
General walkability and safety is one area where a little more effort can really go a long way. Another would be proper, or at least regulated zoning, where mixed-use zones are allowed but regulated to ensure that the vibe is not ruined by ugliness, such as that roofing business across my house that currently has its loaded trucks occupying street parking, making the area suddenly look nothing like the school/heritage zone that it’s supposed to be.*
