The City of Brandon has been gathering information from residents regarding the reconstruction of the city’s core. While there is a general consensus throughout the town that the roads in this area are atrocious, there is some argument over adding sidewalks.
The division in the community over adding the sidewalks is, from my observation, between those wanting safety for pedestrians (particularly children walking to and from the three schools in the area) and those who don’t want an increase in their taxes. There are also those have shown concern regarding winter maintenance of the sidewalks, which generally falls on the homeowner. Some just don’t want any more snow to clear, others are elderly or limited in mobility and don’t have the ability to do so and would have to pay additional money to have it done professionally.
I applaud the City of Brandon for issuing a survey to receive public input and I appreciate that it doesn’t just cover “Sidewalks: Yes or No?” It discusses safety, connecting the community, the loss of tress and landscaping associated with a reconstruction project of this size and funding options.
The survey is available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BrandonCore?fbclid=IwAR1pqQY4cYmzqz8QsDYHW1vKBNCPAbTQpTmsomCj3VMbP3eY6jP8_Ufdjpo Today is the last day to participate.
AIA South Dakota is the professional non-profit membership association of architects, future architects, and partners in the building and design industries, and the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) AIA South Dakota advances the mission that design matters in every South Dakota community.