Neighborhood paves their own way to safety

EUGENE, Ore. - Blind pedestrians and school kids are among the dozens of residents who walk down Acorn Park Street everyday.

Acorn Park serves as a bus stop for middle school students and residents frequently walk down the street to the LTD bus stop daily.

However, there is not a single sidewalk for pedestrians.

"We want to be able to walk more and we want to be able to do it safely," said Tom Schneider, a member of the City of Eugene's bike and pedestrian advisory committee.

On Saturday morning, a group of neighbors in the Acorn Park neighborhood took the matter into their own hands and began building a sidewalk.

The sidewalk stretches from the park to a lightly used street.

"We're within the 20 minute neighborhood you know, but we can't get there because the city doesn't have a sidewalk infill program," Schneider said. "So we've decided to do it ourselves."

The neighborhood sidewalk project is possible through the city's Neighborhood Matching Grant that provides citizens with $2500 for neighborhood projects.

"We've got a little bit of money as far as materials and we're hoping to show them that we really want the sidewalks here," Schneider said. "We're hoping that's what this does."

Tomi Bates and her son walk this stretch everyday and she says there is a strong need for sidewalks in the area.

"Everyday we're going and it's just dodging in and out of traffic," Bates said.

As Bates watches neighbors pour their hearts into building a sidewalk, she cannot help but be moved by their support.

"This is the power of great neighbors is what we're seeing here," Bates said. "It's really special."

The paving project is expected to be completed by Tuesday.