In a city that prides itself as being a "walkable community," Brian Goluska was dismayed last spring to find he had reached a place where the sidewalk ends.

Goluska was not caught in the whimsical world of the Shel Silverstein poem, where the sun burns crimson bright and the moon-bird rests from his flight.

Instead Goluska, who dropped his car off for repairs at Frandor Shopping Center and decided to walk back to his home near Lake Lansing Road, was caught on a bustling Saginaw Street, facing a sidewalk's dead end four blocks east of Coolidge Road.

Opting not to cross the four-lane thoroughfare or trudge over the narrow, grassy shoulder, Goluska walked back to Coolidge Road. His anger was the only thing burning crimson bright that day.

"The city shouldn't pretend that it's a walkable place," Goluska said, looking over Saginaw Street on Monday, months after his initial walk. "No one is walking here."

But Goluska added that the city couldn't take all the blame for the sidewalk woes. Not many people are like him, a person who likes to enjoy the scenery, he said.

"Everyone is just so automobile-minded," he said. "Nobody walks except for recreation."

And improving recreational paths is one of 16 objectives outlined in the public assets section of East Lansing's Strategic Priorities Report. The report is a yearly to-do list put together by the city manager's office and the East Lansing City Council.

The objective calls for a continuation of recommendations for the third phase of the Northern Tier Trail, which extends 3 and a half miles from the soccer complex on Abbott Road north to State Road. The third phase would add another mile to the trail, which cuts through six community parks.

Wendy Longpre, the assistant director for East Lansing's Parks, Recreations and Arts Department, is in the process of applying for a state grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that would help fund the addition.

Some area cyclists have taken advantage of the trail and use it frequently.

Grant Klein, president of the Michigan State Cycling Team, said he rides out to the trail about once a week with friends.

"As far as students go, a lot of us just use places in the area," Klein said, adding he has one request: "I would like to see more dirt, more mountain biking trails."

As the trail continues to flourish, city sidewalk repairs and installations remain on hiatus from last year due to budget concerns.

But Mayor Mark Meadows said the city's commitment to walkable communities is evident, with improvements such as the installation of sidewalks on segments of Abbott Road leading up to the Northern Tier.

Over the next seven to 10 years, Meadows said he hopes the city will install sidewalks everywhere they're needed.

"As part of our process for approving site plans, we require that 8-foot (wide) sidewalks be installed on major thoroughfares," Meadows said.

The East Lansing Cool Cities Partnership also sees the importance of a walkable community.

The alliance, which is made up of city staff, developers and local business owners, listed "ease of circulation" as one of their 19 "livability" factors outlined in a city report to Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Granholm's Cool Cities initiative aims to bring economic growth to Michigan cities by attracting young, innovative professionals dubbed the "creative class."

The idea includes having a system of public walkways that contributes to an appealing, more neighborhood-friendly atmosphere.

"People's expectations and understanding the need for pedestrian travel have changed over the years," Meadows said. "It's hugely important."

But for now, Goluska will walk when he can and where he can, waiting until the improvements are complete.

"How many people do you see walking?" Goluska asks while gazing over Saginaw Street's river of cars and trucks. "None."

And until the changes are made, Goluska will continue in a way the poet Silverstein once described - with a walk that is measured and slow, watching where the chalk-white arrows go, to the place where the sidewalk ends.

Don Jordan can be reached at jordand3@msu.edu.