There was a time – “back in the day” as they say – that some active in the community were vehemently opposed to sidewalks here.

Back in the “pioneer days” of the 1970s and ‘80s, Fountain Hills was a bastion of Old West style thinking – no streetlights, no sidewalks, no government (well, as little as possible).

The Town of Fountain Hills has changed quite a bit since those days, and with the inevitable growth has come the need to re-examine some of our infrastructure needs.

We bring this up now only because the Town Council last week heard a staff report about upcoming sidewalk construction in the downtown area. Certainly many of our older residential neighborhoods won’t ever have sidewalks built in them, but it is more than appropriate that the town look at additional downtown sidewalks.

Some of the existing sidewalks need to be repaired or retrofitted for handicap access. Some areas simply need to be linked up with other existing sidewalks.

While the pedestrian traffic isn’t always considered “bustling” in the downtown area, sidewalks are helpful for those in scooters, those families with baby strollers and during special events when jammed-packed parking on the streets often presents line-of-sight issues.

One of the greatest things ever done by the town was complete (and expand) the sidewalk loop around Fountain Park. Even in the hot summer months people can be seen walking and exercising around the park on a daily basis.

More sidewalks in the downtown area means additional safety for pedestrians – and hopefully it eventually translates into more commerce for our businesses.