Kitchener introduces new ‘continuous sidewalk’ [Video]

The City of Kitchener is taking a step forward with a new approach to sidewalks.

The city unveiled it’s new ‘continuous sidewalk’ at the intersection of Highland Road East and Winslow Drive on Wednesday afternoon.

“This continuous sidewalk design is the first in Kitchener and one of the first that we’ve seen in Ontario. It’s described as an emerging practice. It hasn’t become something that’s widespread here in Ontario yet, but the benefits for pedestrian safety are so promising that we wanted to try it here,” Active Transportation and Development Manager Darren Kropf explained.

A continuous sidewalk differs from a typical sidewalk in that it does not dip down to meet the driveable road surface. Instead, the sidewalk continues on at one, uninterrupted height. Drivers turning onto the street will need to drive up a slight gradient.

“When people are driving they go up and over the pedestrian space and …