Traffic Engineers

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The entrance to the Berrien County Silver Beach Park, looking from the beach towards the town center of St. Joseph, Michigan.

TRAFFIC ENGINEERS design most of the United States, and this photo shows one of the many problems with that. When designing the entrance to Silver Beach, a county park in St. Joseph, Michigan, they tried to be sensitive and contextual, and the road isn't too large and is mainly in character with the boulevard that leads up to it. BUT THEY DISCONTINUED THE SIDEWALKS THAT LEAD TO ONE OF THE BEST TOWN CENTERS ON LAKE MICHIGAN, just 600 feet away at the end of the road, where the trees are. And there's an AMTRAK station that's even closer.

In that situation, why on earth would they stop the sidewalks that are just a block away, and then make narrow roads unsafe for walking?

Looking from the center of St. Joseph towards Silver Beach.

The steps leading down to the train station and the beach.

Looking towards the bluff.