10th anniversary post: Sidewalks

Wide sidewalk on Emmons Street approaching downtown Hiawatha

Of my three posts in December 2015, two were on the subject of sidewalks. We must not have had a white Christmas that year, because none of my pictures showed snow, nor did I mention the difficulty of walking in snow and ice. (I've done that elsewhere, though!)

Dan Burden at CSPS Hall, December 2015

Early in December, Dan Burden, author and Blue Zones director of innovation and inspiration, spoke at CSPS Hall, who praised Cedar Rapids' just-begun sidewalk construction program. Not only do "complete streets" perform better economically, he proclaimed, but sidewalks provide the opportunity for individuals to get exercise and encounter other individuals, which auto travel does not. The key, he stressed, is "completing the system," providing a network of sidewalks that get people to "places to go." In the years since, Cedar Rapids has effectively linked people to parks, stores and schools, albeit some neighborhoods were able to reject new sidewalks, and all the new sidewalks haven't stemmed the outward movement of people and places.

10 foot sidewalk on 3rd Avenue SE
 by Greene Square, December 2015

The city had also begun installing wider sidewalks in high-traffic areas, usually about 10 feet wide, as opposed to the old standard of 4-6 feet. I surveyed a number of sidewalks in the core, as well as a number of urbanists commending the use of wider sidewalks. The Change Lab Solutions guidebook Move This Way: Making Neighborhoods More Walkable and Bikeable (n.d.: 48) noted Generally, two couples or two wheelchairs should be able to pass each other comfortably on a sidewalk, which requires about 10 to 12 feet across.... Ideally, sidewalks should also be wide enough to allow benches for older adults and families to stop and rest or relax. 

Very wide sidewalk in New Bohemia, November 2025

The Cedar Rapids zoning code requires sidewalks in all new developments, but without respect to width except the usable part of the sidewalk must be not "less than five feet wide" (2024: 154). Wide sidewalks are becoming more common, in some cases accommodating bicycle traffic as well. My perception is that the metro's initial forays into bike lanes in the 2010s has been mostly replaced by wide sidewalks. This can create confusion about whether bicycles are supposed to go, as on the Grant Wood Trail where it runs along 6th Avenue in downtown Marion:

bicycles will please divert: 1300 block of 6th Avenue, Marion

Having been surprised by a cyclist on the trail as I stepped out of the Marion Public Library, I applaud the intent anyhow.

When a planned shared path connecting to Washington High School raised concerns among elderly residents of Cottage Grove Place, the bike and pedestrian parts were separated in 2021.

sidewalk divides across from Washington High School
(Google Earth screenshot)

Sometimes there is signage that indicates... an aspiration to being a shared use path?

This is not a bikeway, and it doesn't narrow

(The cognoscenti will recognize this as Emmons Street west of I-380, about a quarter mile west along the same sidewalk as the picture at the top of this post. They will also know that the Linn County Trails Association, as per the latest Trail Connections, is raising $100,000 towards an improved bridge to get Hiawathans to the Cedar Valley Nature Trail.)

Even this sidewalk is better than no sidewalk, however, which is the problem with Boyson Road in Hiawatha near the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, and more curiously, the north side of Twixt Town Road in Mairon where riders board the Marion Circulator (the far side of the street in this picture).

bus transfer station, Twixt Town Road

And, since we've had more than 15 inches of snow since Thanksgiving, it's worth adding that any sidewalk is only as wide as it's plowed.

In this picture: it appears the sidewalk was cleared before the street was plowed. 

Part of the problem is the proximity of the sidewalk to the street (which puts pedestrians right next to traffic even in fair weather). In any case, don't attempt this stretch in a wheelchair or with a stroller!