Here are some examples of pedestrian-friendly and pedestrian-unfriendly areas in Cary. The Town of Cary has adopted policies that require sidewalk development along new roads and property developments. These policies are more proactive than those in many surrounding towns (some of which do not require developers to build sidewalks at all) and have improved walkability in many neighborhoods. However, numerous examples can still be seen of where poor planning and design of new commercial and residential developments fail to meet the needs of pedestrians. Some instances are only inconvenient, while others may put pedestrians in significant danger of being hit by vehicles. In most of these examples, the problem is not a lack of funds to construct effective walkways, but a lack of consideration in design, and the desire of traffic engineers to maximize automobile throughput at the expense of good pedestrian access. In some cases, local laws concerning aesthetic buffers and zoning reduce neighborhood walkability. In other cases one wonders if property developers deliberately avoid pedestrian-friendly designs in order to discourage access by people who do not drive due to their age or economic status.

Smart Sidewalks	Dumb Sidewalks
Median Refuge at Chick-fil-A Tree-Lined Streets Academy Street Serendipity Deli Waverly Place Black Creek Greenway	Crossroads Boulevard Gypsy's Shiny Diner Crescent Commons Shopping Center Waverly Place Wellington Park Shopping Center Bruegger's Bagel Bakery Shops along Kildaire Farm Road Borders Bookstore Connectivity between PUDs Reedy Creek Elementary Park Place (Morrisville)

Some of the properties featured on these pages were developed before a new rule established by the Town of Cary which requires that developers provide sidewalk connections between sites and roadside sidewalks. This rule will prevent some of the conflicts listed on this Web site; however it will not fix existing developments, and some property developers appear to be interested in meeting only minimum requirements rather than making an earnest effort to support pedestrian access.

Disclaimer: I frequent many of the commercial establishments featured in this site, and have nothing but good things to say about the goods and services they provide and the character of their proprietors and/or employees.

Copyright Notice: All contents of this page are original works by Steven Goodridge, the author of this web site. These works are hereby released to the public domain to be freely copied and redistributed in whole or in part for public, private, and/or commercial use.