I fell on the sidewalk on May 6 of this year. And I tripped and had a bad financial district stumble a year ago in February. I’ve learned about my mind and body as a result of those mishaps, but I wonder if I can learn about pavement too.

I’m sure I wasn’t paying attention when I fell; that’s part of how the accidents happened. Well suddenly I had to care for (parts of) my body in ways not customary; that slowed me down. That gave me the time and motivation to consider how crazily I’d been dashing around.

And an immediate result of the last fall was a reconsideration of footwear, followed by a fresh approach to ambulation and respiration in general. I now try to walk with better balance and focus, with more measured breathing.

Those are all to the good. But maybe something can be done about the pavement too.

As long as there are sidewalk trees (may they flourish forever), there will be tree roots capable of prying up slabs of concrete. Like a glacier, like a concrete tsunami, the sidewalk will rise again, to trip the unwary pedestrian. So maybe we should use another material.

Asphalt alone won’t work. It has the flexibility we may desire, but it’s just too soft, too gooey in summer heat. It’s too flexible.

Concrete is too strong and hard, and asphalt is too soft. What about playground material? What if we treat the sidewalks as playgrounds, of a type, for all citizens?

It’s been about 20 years since I spent time in playgrounds. They’ve changed. Gone are many of the metal pieces. No longer are tetherball poles or concrete slides to be found. But the under-equipment surfacing has changed for the better. Where there isn’t sand, there’s this new composite made of old truck tires and other rubber/plastic parts. It’s spongy but strong. It can take the wheels of a stroller or chair but it is gentle on the feet, ankles, knees and hips. And it appears durable.

Imagine a sidewalk made of such a person-friendly material. Or something like that.