The sidewalk isn’t yours for the taking (and landscaping)

Who doesn’t like a well-foliaged lawn?

I certainly do. It helps me relax, especially if it is filled with leafy greens and fruit-bearing trees, much like our own garden yard. When I go out on an errand, say, for a short trip to the neighborhood grocery, I walk. It’s good for my heart, joints, and muscles, and great for minimizing my carbon footprint, too. On my way, I like to look at other houses’ yards that are nicely laid out with greens. They’re always easy on the eyes, kind to my lungs, and help build a pocket ecosystem that’s welcoming for small creatures and birds.

However, when it comes to sidewalks, that’s where I draw the line.

Last Monday, I decided to walk from a mall in Las Piñas to my house, around six kilometers away. I know, six kilometers isn’t just “a few tumblings” away, but it was late in the afternoon. It wasn’t that hot anymore, and I felt I badly needed some exercise after a weekend of being glued to the house.

The stroll back home involved walking a couple of kilometers on Alabang-Zapote Road. Like any busy main street in Metro Manila, A-Z Road is noisy and sooty. Sidewalks here are optional. If they do exist, either a vehicle is parked on them or a commercial establishment has claimed them. So, I managed my expectations and endured that stretch. I thought to myself that after this two-kilometer gauntlet, I would be walking on the well-maintained sidewalks of an upscale village the rest of the way, before crossing over to my subdivision.

So, I entered the gates of this upscale village whose name I won’t mention. Suffice it to say its streets are named after beauty queens, but maybe never after a politician with whom it has had a long-standing and very public beef.

I thought this village’s sidewalks would offer a pleasant and relaxed pedestrian experience. But in that three-kilometer stretch, I encountered the exact same problem: Sidewalks didn’t get the respect they lawfully deserved.

Commercial establishments and their patrons’ cars blocked paths explicitly meant for pedestrians. One massive mansion barricaded its entire frontage, along with the sidewalk, with landscaping, leaving absolutely nothing for bipeds to tread on. Along one stretch, banks had acquired entire frontages, swallowing up space that should have been designated as public sidewalks.

One property stood out for its beautifully manicured garden filled with rare plants, structurally designed like a sloped hill using colorful stones. The only problem was this garden spilled over the entire sidewalk in front, forcing pedestrians to walk on the asphalt with speeding cars whizzing by dangerously close. To avoid such danger, I tried to walk along the edge of the slope, which was barely four inches wide. I needed Jedi reflexes to stay balanced on this edge. Call me Luke Sidewalker.

Seriously, folks. If you as a pedestrian meet with an accident as a result of being forced onto the road by a private property that occupies or obstructs the sidewalk, you can probably sue the homeowner. R.A. 4136, Article V, Section 52 is a reminder that driving or parking your vehicle on sidewalks, paths, or alleys not meant for vehicular traffic is a strict no-go, and Articles 694 to 707 of the Civil Code stipulate that sidewalks are properties of public dominion meant for public use. Let’s keep these areas, especially sidewalks, safe and accessible for pedestrians.

May is Road Safety Month. The Land Transportation Office’s Traffic Safety Division is collaborating with accredited driving schools to host a series of free seminars on road safety and responsible driving behavior from May 20 to May 22. These sessions, which the LTO notes are especially geared toward young participants, aim to raise awareness and encourage safer road practices.

One of the sessions is aptly titled “Drive Safe, Walk Wise.” This is incredibly relevant for our young pedestrians, like the students I see walking outside their schools. If we want our youth to walk smarter, we must also have the political will to compel homeowners and businesses that reside along major roads to allot proper space for sidewalks.

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I’m not saying sidewalks should be entirely cemented over. I am simply talking about allocating safe, unobstructed space for pedestrians, the youth, and the elderly to walk on.

To quote UK-based renewable energy experts: We need significant behavioral change alongside technological solutions, and the two are intimately interlinked among political leaders, town planners, manufacturers, and consumers. All of us need to adopt, enable, and promote new travel habits just as much as we adopt new technologies.

We need mode-switching for the shortest journeys in areas where it is highly doable, particularly within subdivisions. This is necessary not only to lower emissions, but also to reduce traffic congestion, decrease our dependence on vehicles, and get ourselves to walk more and sit less, which, in my case, is vital to maintaining my health and well-being.