Twigs cracked beneath young Larry Sanftner’s feet during his hike through the woods many years ago in rural Duluth. Before he had time to react, a bullet whizzed through the brush and into his body.
It would be four hours before he made it to a hospital. His leg was ultimately amputated. He’s been confined to a mobility scooter since, making sidewalks an essential part of the city’s infrastructure for Sanftner.
“Where would I go?” he said while on the Lyndale Avenue sidewalk late Thursday morning. “I’d just be sitting in my room, doing nothing. This way, I can get out.”
He said it’s important for more than just disability access.
“There’s always somebody on it,” he said of the sidewalk. “It’s really a great thing. Not only for handicapped people, but for older people that want to get out and do something. You can walk this day and night. And it’s got blacktop, so you’re not going to stumble. Unless, you know, you’re half drunk or half out of it.”
But not everyone agrees the sidewalk is a priority.
In March , more than a dozen citizens petitioned not to move forward with a sidewalk in their neighborhood on Westwood Drive and Eighth Street SW. The residents had gathered almost 40 signatures in opposition of the project, prompting a divided council when it came time to vote.
The residents’ case against the sidewalk centered around not wanting to shovel the snow and losing trees. That particular project ultimately passed 4-2 with dissenters Councilor Royal Ross and Mayor Kevin Voracek citing the petition and honoring their duty to represent the will of their constituents.
Still, the project was part of a larger, ongoing effort to improve the city’s walkability. This is laid out in the Faribault Community Vision 2040, the city’s groundwork providing direction and identifying city priorities.
In addition to his amputated leg, Sanftner was born without a right arm. His left is deformed. When he was shot by the bear hunter as a young adult, his rare blood type made recovery even more complicated.
After spending years in Duluth, he decided to move closer to Morristown, his hometown. He’s living at Heritage House on Lyndale Avenue, an assisted-living and elder-care facility.
But he hardly considers himself disabled. He was a kicker on his high-school football team, the only position he could play without arms. He was a kicking coach for decades at Northfield High School.
His mobility scooter affords him access to the roads. He said he drives it on the side of the highway to Warsaw, reaching about 10 miles an hour.
“This is my car,” he said. “People see me and they look at me. I wave at ‘em, and they drive on. People see me goin’ up and down the road all the time. They honk at me, and I just wave at ‘em.”
Some might see a sidewalk as just another reason to raise taxes, more snow to shovel and more concrete covering the yard. To Sanftner, a sidewalk means safety, freedom and independence.
“This one, I take often,” he said of the sidewalk along Lyndale Avenue. “If nobody wants to come out, that’s alright. I can go by myself. I’ve got my chair.”
He wasn’t sure why someone would oppose a sidewalk.
“I think it’d be pretty stupid,” he said. “I mean, otherwise, how would I get around?”
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