Walking In Sayulita - The Benefits Of More Sidewalks

Now that the kids are older and we live closer to the center of town we walk pretty much everywhere. With Sayulita growing like crazy the traffic in town has become much ridiculous with it's narrow streets and limited parking.  This small former fishing village turned international destination was just not designed for lots of vehicle traffic.  Pedestrians are pushed out into the street since the minimal sidewalk space is occupied by venders, restaurant tables or other folks trying to get away from the street traffic. On our end of town the sidewalk pretty much ends just outside of the center of town and we(and everyone else) always ends up walking in the street around parked cars and bumper to bumper traffic.

An effort has begun to limit parking down town and enforcement is becoming the norm more often than not.  This will free up some space for traffic to flow smoother and give pedestrians some needed walking room.  As more services and lodging becomes available father from the town center more and more people will be walking to and from "Centro" and the need for safe sidewalks will increase.

My question is what is the benefit of sidewalks for a downtown environment other than "safety"?  Why would a town design and invest in sidewalks where there are none?  We were walking home from the Plaza area last night and there were people strolling all over the south end of town on the main drag.  As soon as the walkability or sidewalks ended the vibe totally changed.  The open stores, restaurants still lined the street but the energy quickly changed and we saw many people become disinterested and turn around to return to the center of town.  So, it appears there is something to this and the pressure for the south end to accommodate visitors is only increasing.  More sidewalks anyone?

 I found this article discussing this very topic.  Click on the link below.

New sidewalks going in along the new entrance to town in 2017

Click Here For Sidewalk article.