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# Sidewalks don't have to end
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/sidewalks-dont-have-to-end/
- Published: 2026-10-15T02:18:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T02:26:20.000Z
- Description: Baton Rouge is building sidewalks. Denver offers a model for building—and maintaining—many more.
- Author: Mukul Verma
- Tags: News, Governing

👣

Talk about sidewalks and other quality of life ideas at the Center for Planning Excellence's 2026 Smart Growth Summit next week. [Learn more here.](https://summit.cpex.org/?ref=redeyebr.com) **(RedEye is a* ***news partner** *of the Summit.)*

Baton Rouge is known as a city where the sidewalks end. But that’s beginning to change as MovEBR, the parish’s $1 billion-plus infrastructure program, builds new sidewalks and retrofits older neighborhoods.

**Why it matters:** Sidewalks are more than concrete. Federal research has linked sidewalks on both sides of a street to an 88% reduction in crashes involving pedestrians. Other studies link walkable neighborhoods to more physical activity and greater interaction among neighbors, providing people with a safer way to exercise, reach nearby destinations and foster social connections.

**The details:**

- Property owners are technically responsible for sidewalk repairs in Baton Rouge. But enforcement is rare, leaving many sidewalks to deteriorate.
- Developers once routinely skipped sidewalks to save money, though waivers have become harder to obtain.
- MoveBR is building or improving sidewalks along [Terrace Avenue ](https://movebr.brla.gov/form/terrace-ave-highland-rd-perkins-rd-project-page?ref=redeyebr.com)and [Goodwood Boulevard](https://movebr.brla.gov/page/construction-kicks-off-on-goodwood-boulevard-sidewalks-and-bike-paths-project?ref=redeyebr.com) and in [Broadmoor](https://movebr.brla.gov/form/marilyn-drive-sidewalks-broadmoor-sidewalk-and-bike-path--project-page?ref=redeyebr.com).
- The state is spending millions to add sidewalks along [Florida Boulevard](https://www.redeyebr.com/fix-for-throad-not-the-divide/), with the goal of reducing pedestrian deaths on the busy corridor.

**But, wait:** There isn’t enough money to retrofit every neighborhood without sidewalks, such as Southdowns, while also repairing sidewalks that have been neglected for many, many years.

**A solution:** One of RedEye’s [first stories spotlighted Denver](https://www.redeyebr.com/where-the-sidewalk-begins/), the first city in the nation to approve a property tax dedicated to building and maintaining sidewalks. For an average annual fee of about $150 per home or business, the city took on work that had long been the responsibility of property owners.

**The bottom line:** Denver has shown that residents are willing to pay for sidewalks. That’s worth exploring here: Neighborhoods willing to tax themselves for crime prevention districts could put some of that same civic energy toward creating safe places to walk.

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