Kitchener introduces new 'continuous sidewalk'

The city of Kitchener unveiled a new 'continuous sidewalk' along Highland Road East on May 15, 2024. (Dave Pettitt/CTV News)

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

The city unveiled its 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 that provides a traffic calming element that slows speeds and increases safety for everyone,” Kropf said.

The road also features tactile plates to help signify the crossing to anyone who is visually impaired.

Highland Road East was chosen for the new kind of sidewalk because it was already under construction.

“What’s really beautiful about Highland Road is it really created for us an opportunity to make something for everyone. Before we had narrow sidewalks, you had really wide asphalt, it was really a road that was designed just to move traffic quickly. Now, we can still carry the same amount of traffic, but we can do it at a slower, safer speed, there are wider sidewalks, there are cycle tracks, and there’s better access to public transit.”

Kropf said Kitchener residents may see similar sidewalks installed in the future as the city adheres to its Complete Streets policy.