BENNETT HOLLEY

It is interesting you point this out because I have always questioned the lack of sidewalks in my hometown and this was especially noticed during COVID. My family religiously went on sunset walks together throughout the pandemic to get in some rare and much needed outdoor time. However, this meant walking in the streets and continuously needing to stop and step aside whenever a car drove by. While my neighborhood is quiet and usually not too busy, there are still a decent amount of cars that drive by. There is one busy road in particular that runs parallel to the cliffs overlooking the ocean where it is a little dangerous to be walking on this street with all of the cars that drive by because of the beautiful  scenery. On top of all of this, you can only walk when the sun is out because there are no street lights in my city either. All of these city planning decisions are very purposeful with the intent to keep visitors out. No sidewalks, no street lights, no traffic lights allowed in the city. This too coming from a city that tried to have a ban on all skateboarding in any public street. They say it is to protect the natural beauty of the city. But we really know that the rich residents don't want to be disturbed by outsiders or street lights that might shine into their homes.

The lack of sidewalks is very dangerous because little children are constantly running into the streets. When I was little I always walked to elementary school with my parents. I learned very young to be cautious of cars because I was forced to walk in the street and my parents feared for my safety. When I drive at night, I get scared that I'm not going to be able to see a pedestrian because it is so dark out and I can only see someone walking when I get too close to avoid hitting them. 

I find it very interesting that there are no sidewalks in my city but plenty of people go on walks. In an oversimplified and judgemental perspective, there is a stereotype from my hometown of the morning mom walks. From my house I can see countless groups of moms that go on daily walks together  every morning. I can hear their conversations as they pass and to say it is more of a social gossip hour with the added benefit of exercise might be fair. But in any case, there is definitely a need for sidewalks in the city. Plenty of residents would use the sidewalks whether for going on strolls, walking the dog, or running in the neighborhood. 

When I go on walks in Westwood it is a very different experience compared to at home. For starters, there are sidewalks in Westwood. This is very helpful for avoiding cars in the street but it also comes with the added annoyance of electric scooters riding on the sidewalks when they should be in the street. During Spring 2020, I went on daily walks to campus. It was my main form of entertainment at the time and it was nice to still experience some aspect of ucla. As I walked, I often thought about the paths that crossed through the Janss steps grass lawn. I remember my dad, a former ucla student, used to tell me that the bricked paths through the lawn used to not be there. Students not wanting to walk around this area but needing to find the most direct route to class, had created their own paths amongst the vegetation. Based on all of the foot traffic, dirt paths had been carved out amongst the lawn. It is these paths that are now the ones that permanently exist within the space. It is interesting how people can create their own space that contributes to the future development of the area. This got me thinking about future developments that I would enjoy on campus. One thing that really stands out to me is the lack of accessibility on campus. There are so many stairs on this campus and the few wheelchair accessible ramps are very limited, inconvenient, and extremely out of the way for accessing certain parts of campus. This is something that definitely needs to be improved and should already be in place. Something else I would appreciate are more outdoor seating spaces. My typical route for my "mental health walks" during COVID passed Dickson court and the sculpture garden. While I understand the need to preserve the green space, I think that they could incorporate more seating areas within these spaces. This would also encourage more people to spend time outdoors.