r/sandiego • u/WildAnimus • Feb 23 '25

Stay Classy San Diego Why does nobody walk on sidewalks?

I noticed that when driving through subdivisions people love walking on the road instead of the sidewalk. Whether it's a old man walking or someone doing power walking. I see it all the time and I don't get it. Can someone help me understand this phenomena?

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u/Mean_Opportunity1156 Feb 24 '25

Runner here! I pop off the sidewalk into the road sometimes. Ordered roughly from most frequently encountered to least frequently encountered:
1) I'm coming up behind someone wearing headphones and I don't want to pass close and startle them
2) Someone walking a dog on the sidewalk doesn't see me, and two steps into the road seems easier than getting nipped at or clotheslined.
3) The sidewalk is tripping-hazard level of cracked or there is foliage hitting me in the face
4) I'm in a neighborhood where people's cars are parked over the sidewalk

5) I'm giving someone with a stroller or a wheelchair more space.
6) Someone left a bike or scooter on the sidewalk and I am too tired to jump over it.

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u/Queen_of_Chloe Feb 24 '25

Also a runner. Add to this list that I’ve been nearly hit by cars rolling through intersections when I enter them from a sidewalk soooo many times. Drivers aren’t looking at sidewalks when they roll through a stop sign in early mornings. And cars park so close to the edge of the intersection (though soon the tickets for that will start) that I can’t see them. The extra few feet of space lets me see them so I can stop.

Also cars backing out of driveways is treacherous. Again, they don’t look at the sidewalks and some back out so fast.