DEAR EDITOR:

Driving through the newly completed Diverging Diamond where Routes 82 and 46 meet, there are some intriguing things that catch your eye. For some, it’s the unusual flow of traffic or the nice new bridges. But what stood out to me were the sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, and it got me thinking.

The interchange was made mainly to optimize traffic to and from the Eastwood Mall. But right now these well-built sidewalks lead to nowhere. The whole area to the south by the Eastwood Mall has been designed to make pedestrian and bike traffic as difficult as possible. Not a single sidewalk or crossing exists beyond the interchange. None at all!

This realization reminded me of conversations as kids, where we talked about how cool it would be to live right next to the mall. But in reality, it’s just as unreachable as it would be if you lived far away. You’d always have to travel in a car, even if you lived right across the street.

The Eastwood Mall is a rare gem of the area, where it seems like new businesses are appearing every year. There are plenty of local graduates who don’t have their own car yet but would love to get started working to save up for one without arranging rides all the time. Also, the mall is well known for being family-friendly and filled with all kinds of community resources. Why not give locals more access to make the most of them?

One of the ways to provide this access is to install some basic pedestrian bridges to allow access from Eastern Warren or Northern Niles. Each could be built for about the same cost as traffic lights for one intersection and would minimally affect the existing road layout. Beyond the bridge, it could take as little as one row of the mall’s plentiful parking to complete a nice, dedicated path to take to the entrance.

It would be a small addition in the grand scheme of things, but I hope the local community planners and partners will look into things like this to help the residents and businesses better benefit each other well into the future. And who knows, maybe someday those interchange sidewalks will lead somewhere after all!

LUKE PROX

Cortland