In the above photo taken on my work commute this morning, you can see a group of about ten seniors taking a stroll along Hinkle. Notice there’s no sidewalk on either side of the road. I’ve also encountered folks in wheelchairs who roll in the road here.
Since Hinkle is about to be restriped and was just re-signed, allow me to think out loud: “Pedestrians use the road. Nobody parks here. Can we make this a pedestrian lane and not a parking zone, as it’s now signed?”
In playing Devil’s advocate, I must wonder if AASHTO will even allow pedestrians to share a roadway? If not, then I suspect a parking lane is the nearest compromise, since a no-parking zone would just make it easier for cars to drive in the lane.
If this is the nearest compromise, then an obvious conclusion is that Hinkle deserves a sidewalk. With a proper sidewalk on both sides, the Hinkle lanes could be reconfigured or even dieted, and that unfolds a number of possibilities for buffered or physically separated facilities.