Editing Sidewalk (section)

==Benefits==

===Transportation===
[[File:Old Bond Street 1a db.jpg|thumb|right|Pedestrians walking on the sidewalk, locally known as a "pavement" in [[London]]]]
[[File:Tampere - Kauppakatu.jpg|thumb|right|Sidewalk at Kauppakatu in [[Tampere]], Finland]]
Sidewalks played an important role in transportation, as they provided a path for people to walk along without stepping on horse manure. They aided road safety by minimizing interaction between pedestrians, horses, carriages, and later automobiles. Sidewalks are normally in pairs, one on each side of the road, with the center section of the road for motorized vehicles. [[Crosswalk]]s provide pedestrians a space to cross between the two sides of the street at predictable locations.

On rural roads, sidewalks may not be present as the amount of traffic (pedestrian or motorized) may not be enough to justify separating the two. In suburban and urban areas, sidewalks are more common. In town and city centers (known as [[downtown]] in the USA) the amount of pedestrian traffic can exceed motorized traffic, and in this case the sidewalks can occupy more than half of the width of the road, or the whole road can be [[Pedestrian zone|pedestrianized]].

===Environment===
Sidewalks may have a small effect on reducing vehicle miles traveled and carbon dioxide emissions. A study of sidewalk and transit investments in Seattle neighborhoods found vehicle travel reductions of 6 to 8% and CO<sub>2</sub> emission reductions of 1.3 to 2.2%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/476AE40D-53B2-42D4-93D2-6EB14284EEFB/0/ResearchNote_7651_Redo81611.pdf |title=Research Note: An Assessment of Urban Form and Pedestrian and Transit Improvements as an Integrated GHG Reduction Strategy |publisher=Washington State Department of Transportation |date=April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618172416/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/476AE40D-53B2-42D4-93D2-6EB14284EEFB/0/ResearchNote_7651_Redo81611.pdf |archive-date=2013-06-18 }}</ref>

===Road traffic safety===
{{see also|Road traffic safety}}
[[File:Sidewalk with bike path.JPG|thumb|Sidewalk with bike path]]

Research commissioned for the Florida Department of Transportation, published in 2005, found that, in Florida, the Crash Reduction Factor (used to estimate the expected reduction of crashes during a given period) resulting from the installation of sidewalks averaged 74%.<ref>
{{cite report
 |first       = Albert
 |last        = Gan
 |author2     = Joan Shen
 |author3     = Adriana Rodriquez
 |title       = Update of Florida Crash Reduction Factors and Countermeasures to Improve the Development of District Safety Improvement Projects
 |publisher   = State of Florida DOT
 |year        = 2005
 |url         = http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-Center/Completed_Proj/Summary_SF/FDOT_BD015_04_rpt.pdf
 |id          = BD015-04.
 |access-date  = 2008-03-24
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080410063611/http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-Center/Completed_Proj/Summary_SF/FDOT_BD015_04_rpt.pdf
 |archive-date = 2008-04-10
}}
</ref>
Research at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]] for the U.S. Department of Transportation found that the presence or absence of a sidewalk and the [[speed limit]] are significant factors in the likelihood of a vehicle/pedestrian crash. Sidewalk presence had a risk ratio of 0.118, which means that the likelihood of a crash on a road with a paved sidewalk was 88.2 percent lower than one without a sidewalk. The authors wrote that "this should not be interpreted to mean that installing sidewalks would necessarily reduce the likelihood of pedestrian/motor vehicle crashes by 88.2 percent in all situations. However, the presence of a sidewalk clearly has a strong beneficial effect of reducing the risk of a 'walking along roadway' pedestrian/motor vehicle crash." The study does not count crashes that happen when walking across a roadway. The speed limit risk ratio was 1.116, which means that a 16.1-km/h (10-mi/h) increase in the limit yields a factor of (1.116)<sup>10</sup> or 3.<ref>
{{cite report
 |author      = McMahon, Patrick J.
 |author2     = Charles V. Zegeer
 |author3     = Chandler Duncan
 |author4     = Richard L. Knoblauch
 |author5     = J. Richard Stewart
 |author6     = Asad J. Khattak
 |title       = An Analysis of Factors Contributing to 'Walking along Roadway' Crashes, Research Study and Guidelines for Sidewalks and Walkways
 |publisher   = Federal Highway Administration
 |year        = 2002
 |url         = http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/19000/19900/19995/PB2003102002.pdf
 |id          = FHWA-RD-01-101.
 |access-date  = 2008-03-24
 |url-status   = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080410063610/http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/19000/19900/19995/PB2003102002.pdf
 |archive-date = 2008-04-10
}}
</ref>

The presence or absence of sidewalks was one of three factors that were found to encourage drivers to choose lower, safer speeds.<ref>{{cite book |title=Designing Roads That Guide Drivers to Choose Safer Speeds |author=John N. Ivan, Norman W. Garrick and Gilbert Hanson |publisher= Connecticut Transportation Institute |date=November 2009}}</ref>

On the other hand, the implementation of schemes which involve the removal of sidewalks, such as [[shared space]] schemes, are reported to deliver a dramatic drop in crashes and congestion too, which indicates that a number of other factors, such as the local speed environment, also play an important role in whether sidewalks are necessarily the best local solution for pedestrian safety.<ref>{{cite web |title=Do you take unnecessary risks behind the wheel? |date=2011-01-05 |publisher=Which? |url=http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/01/do-you-take-unnecessary-risks-behind-the-wheel-241445/ |quote=The town of Drachten removed most of its street furniture, signs and markings in 2003 and recorded a dramatic fall in accidents and traffic congestion as a result |access-date=2011-01-27 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312144802/http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/01/do-you-take-unnecessary-risks-behind-the-wheel-241445/ |archive-date=2012-03-12 }}</ref>

In cold weather, [[black ice]] is a common problem with unsalted sidewalks. The ice forms a thin transparent surface film which is almost impossible to see, and so results in many slips by [[pedestrians]].

Riding bicycles on sidewalks is discouraged since some research shows it to be more dangerous than riding in the street.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Sidewalk Bicycling Safety Issues |author=Lisa Aultman-Hall and Michael F. Adams, Jr. |journal=Transportation Research Record |issue=1636 |year=1998}}</ref> Some jurisdictions prohibit sidewalk riding except for children. In addition to the risk of cyclist/pedestrian collisions, cyclists face increase risks from collisions with motor vehicles at street crossings and driveways. Riding in the direction opposite to traffic in the adjacent lane is especially risky.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bikexprt.com/bikepol/facil/sidepath/sidecrash.htm |title=Bicycle sidepaths: Crash risks and liability exposure: Evidence from the research literature |date=8 December 2010 |access-date=2011-09-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911143347/http://www.bikexprt.com/bikepol/facil/sidepath/sidecrash.htm |archive-date=11 September 2011 }}</ref>

===Health===
{{main|Obesity and walking}}
Since residents of neighborhoods with sidewalks are more likely to walk, they tend to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and other health issues related to sedentary lifestyles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/04/crimes-of-the-heart.html |title=Crimes of the Heart |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=February 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810012823/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/02/04/crimes-of-the-heart.html |archive-date=August 10, 2013 }}</ref> Also, children who walk to school have been shown to have better concentration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/02/kids-who-walk-or-bike-school-concentrate-better-study-shows/4585/ |title=The Link Between Kids Who Walk or Bike to School and Concentration |work=The Atlantic Cities |access-date=February 6, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207203634/http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/02/kids-who-walk-or-bike-school-concentrate-better-study-shows/4585/ |archive-date=February 7, 2013 }}</ref>

===Social uses===
[[File:Orchard Road street busking.JPG|thumb|[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] [[busking]] at [[Orchard Road]], [[Singapore]]]]
Some sidewalks may be used as social spaces with [[sidewalk café]]s, [[market (place)|market]]s, or [[busking]] musicians, as well as for [[parking]] for a variety of vehicles including cars, motorbikes and bicycles. Sidewalk surfing was often used in the early 1960s to describe [[skateboarding]].<ref>[[Iain Borden]], [https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/skateboarding-and-the-city-9781472583451/ ''Skateboarding and the City: a Complete History''], ([[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]], 2019), p. 9.</ref>)