Darrell Watson finds it hard to take a simple walk to the park because so many of his neighbors park across the sidewalks, leave trash cans our or erect portable basketball goals on them. Watson uses a walker and carries oxygen, making it harder to swerve into the streets and dangerous because he can't move quickly enough to dodge oncoming traffic.
It was obvious from the first few minutes I drove around Darrell Watson‘s neighborhood in Deerfield Hills that he wasn’t exaggerating about the problem.
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There were cars, trailers, trash cans and portable basketball goals blocking sidewalks on nearly every street.
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This is a problem for Darrell, a 66-year-old retired soldier who suffers from emphysema and needs a walker and an oxygen tank to get around.
Infractions are visible from space! Several examples of cars routinely parking on the sidewalks of Deerfield Hills, near Darrell Watson's home.
All the sidewalk obstacles make Darrell’s morning walks more strenuous than they should be. And it’s not safe for him to detour far into the streets since he can’t quickly move out of the way of traffic.
A typical sight in Deerfield Hills and other Colorado Springs neighborhoods where many think it's OK to park on sidewalks.
- Portable basketball goals, overgrown bushes and trash cans are obstacles that make it difficult for Darrell Watson, with his walker, to stroll to the park.
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Imagine trying to negotiate this sidewalk in a walker. Squeeze between the overgrown bushes and the mailbox, the duck down into the street to get around the basketball goal.
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In this case, the basketball goal was in the street. But the trailer made walking a challenge.
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