The Continuous Sidewalk: What Are Our Priorities? – Urban Infrastructure Series #2

Walk down any typical local sidewalk in Orleans and you’ll play a familiar game, especially if you’re walking with kids. You walk, you reach a street corner, stop, look both way, step down off the curb, cross the street, and you step back up and continue on your way. Repeat this at every single side street, and you could be doing this a dozen times on an average walk.

This design sends a clear message: even on a quiet neighbourhood street, the car’s journey is paramount, and pedestrians are an obstacle and an interruption. We have built a system where the most vulnerable user is forced to constantly yield to the most powerful one.

Now, picture a different design, one that flips the street dynamic on its head. Imagine the sidewalk continues at the same raised level all across the community, in the same paving material, straight and flat across the driveway or side street entrance. To cross this pedestrian’s path, the car has to drive up a slight ramp onto the walkers’ territory and then back down.

This is referred to as a continuous sidewalk. It’s a simple design shift with a profound impact.

Also known as a “raised crossing” or “Copenhagen-style crossing,” this design is built on a simple principle: the sidewalk is a separate piece of infrastructure for vulnerable users that should not be broken. It is the pedestrian’s domain.

Here’s why urban planners and safety advocates describe the ways it’s so much better:

• It Flips the Psychology of the Street: The visual and physical continuity of the path tells the driver, “You are now crossing the sidewalk.” This is a fundamental psychological shift. The driver is no longer in their own lane; they are a guest in a pedestrian space and must act accordingly by slowing to a crawl (or even risk damaging their vehicle) and looking carefully.
• It’s a Safety Feature You Can’t Ignore: A continuous sidewalk functions as a traffic calming device. Unlike a painted line that can be easily ignored, drivers are physically forced to slow down to navigate the ramps. This change in speed dramatically increases the likelihood that they will see and yield to people on the sidewalk.
• It’s True Accessibility: For anyone pushing a stroller, using a wheelchair, or operating a mobility scooter, our standard street design is an obstacle course of jutting angles, curbs, and jarring transitions. A continuous sidewalk provides a smooth, uninterrupted, and dignified path of travel. It’s what true accessibility looks like.

Building our neighbourhoods to be walkable isn’t just about adding sidewalks; it’s about the quality of those sidewalks. The continuous sidewalk is a declaration that walking is a valued and protected form of transportation, and that the safety and comfort of people matter more than the speed of cars.