Pedestrian Access at Loughborough Commons

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With great fascination I do follow Urban Review’s incredulous observations of all non-automotive access at Loughborough Commons. Before the place morphed into Lowesville, I walked and biked to the place on a regular basis. Nowadays, when a visit to the hardware box is unavoidable, I sneak in through the back entrance to avoid injuring myself or others at the main entrance on Loughborough.

During one of those visits just the other day, the site shown above made me back up my car and jump out for a closer look. Along the Grand Avenue side of the shopping center, this fake fiber privacy fence protects the neighborhood facing it from having to stare at retail mechanics. And to the on-foot folks in the neighborhood who want to do some shopping, the fence also serves as an access barrier.

Or it did, until some thoughtful person fixed the problem. Note how this helpful citizen left the pried-off planks at the site, a gesture of civil vandalism.

Poking my head through the hole, I see that this spot was purposely picked; the slope leading to the asphalt below is gentle enough for a reasonably fit person to easily access, and it democratically leads you straight to the “alley” between Lowes and Schnuck’s.

This is a thrilling example of grassroots logic at work, and my compliments to the “architectural engineer” who devised this simple solution to the local pedestrians who refuse to be ignored.

3 thoughts on “Pedestrian Access at Loughborough Commons

  1. Just shows how futile it is to secure homes and institutions with mere fences. Fencing, though, has some psychological contributions to security.

  2. This reminds me of the route that myself and others took every day to high school. Cut through the back lot of the colonial offfice building, through the bushes to the chain link fence that always had a convenient “opening”. This accessed an abandoned railroad ROW that led literally to the front door of the school.

    One day on the return trip we found a new piece of chain link had been installed blocking the route… next day I returned with a special tool in my backpack… bolt cutters of course.

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