Feedback: Runners on the Road; Chalk Ban for Sidewalks

This is a weekly feature called "Feedback Friday" where we let you know what your neighbors have been saying on our Facebook page, to us on Twitter and in the Northfield Patch comment section about the stories from the past week.

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Danny Urban
And I have yet to see that Northfield's finest has never given them a ticket for running or rolling down the middle of a driving lane with their headphones on! Then when you drive buy them, they give you that look like you had done some something wrong! Guess they will have to learn the hard way. My thanks to Mr. Ingham for trying to educate them a bit. 

Mark Berglund
Can I assume Northfield will keep its sidewalks free of ice and snow and in good repair to accomodate the request? Hey drivers, you see a bike, runner or walker, put the phone down, quit playing with the radio dial, slow up a bit and move over. 

Brent Cheney
I agree... Why pay taxes for sidewalks if no one is going to use them?

Keith E.O. Homstad
How about a blast of the horn to send a message the a 150 lb jogger is NO match for a 4,000 lb vehicle!

Cody Larson
Believe it or not, concrete is harder on the body than asphalt. Not healthier. No law against jogging on the side of the road.

Kathy Jutz
I so agree because there will be a day when someone gets hit - or causes an accident because the car whose lane they are in swerves out to get around them and... I have seen too many near misses. 14 hours ago

Matthew Rich
I was always taught that the sidewalks are meant only for walkers, so bikes and runners are supposed to use the side of the road. Inconsistent messages lead to inconsistent results in practice.

Cassie Funke-Harris
I second the comment by Cody Larson - concrete is harder on the body than asphalt. This is probably inconsequential if you're a mile a day walker, but for someone putting in 40-60 miles a week year-round, it adds up. In the winter, you can add to that sidewalks that aren't safe because of ice and uncleared snow, and there's sometimes a very good reason for a runner to be in the road. That being said, it's the responsibility of the runner to have their own safety in mind. Drivers should be paying attention, but sadly, most are too focused on their phones, the radio or their passengers. Personally, I never run with headphones for precisely this reason. I don't trust the drivers on the road to be looking out for me. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who was right or who was wrong, the runner always loses in a collision with a car. 

Caroline Hoiseth Bussmann
As a runner, my running friends and I do try to stay on sidewalks when possible. However, poor sidewalk conditions- in all seasons- sometimes makes this impossible. Some sidewalks around town are in poor condition and have places that make it easy to trip and fall, especially in the dark. Many people do not shovel their sidewalks consistently in the winter, which makes it extremely dangerous due to ice and snow. There are also unkept trees and bushes that interfere with running on a sidewalk. Because of the busy schedule our family has, the time I can run is early morning. I do not use the trails that time of day out of pure safety. They are not lit and personally scare me at 5 am. When running in the morning, we work hard to stay well lit and visible to drivers when we are on the road. We aren't trying to challenge vehicles on the road to a one on one competition, but we are there for a reason. Just like motorists are expected to share the roads with bikers, the same should be expected for runners. A biker has no better chance against a vehicle than a runner. We can all be safe and continue our routines if we can share the road and respect each other.

Jennifer Williams Toth
Are you going to criticize a runner when they have to call you because they tripped over a large crack in the sidewalk or when they slip in the winter on a sidewalk that hasn't been shoveled? Yes, runners need to be respectful of their surroundings-but most are. 22 hours ago via mobile

Kristen Haines
Hey Runners: when you say side of the road, do you know what that means. I drive into Northfield on the weekend and the runners are 4 or 5 across the drive path...now who's going to move out the way.

Elvis Weichel
You can't ban that, its up to the parents to make sure they are not writing anything offensive, but usually its just different drawings and such! Leave it alone, stop wasting time on stupid stuff! 

Angela Lauterbach
Well, this HOA board member loves it. Just no depictions of anything truly offensive (six year olds generally don't draw these) and we're good. Methinks Colorado neighborhoods need less time to worry about sidewalk chalk. 

Angie Lauer
How silly! 

Matt Todd
Is it really a nuisance? Like usual home owners associations are just vehicles to give people a feeling of power over others in their neighborhoods. Mari Radtke: That's really one of the most ridiculous things I've heard in a very long time..