I went to a local park today and noticed an unpaved path is now paved as a sidewalk. I think this is part of a larger trend to make these areas accessible for wheelchairs, but it detracts from the character of the area to have a paved sidewalk instead of an unpaved path. It leads me to wonder if there aren't other accessibility solutions besides paving unpaved paths.

1) Could wheelchairs be developed so they are better for rolling over unpaved paths, e.g. by having better tread and suspension?

2) Could there be some agreement to have unpaved paths as well as paved paths so that a significant amount of unpaved walking paths can be left unpaved? As I said, I'd rather not exclude people in wheelchairs but if there's no way to improve wheelchairs so they can go on unpaved paths, I'd still like to have as many unpaved paths as possible.

Am I just being greedy and selfish? Certainly there are many times I happily walk on sidewalks, and I am glad they are kept level for comfortable low-speed bike riding and wheelchair use; but I also walk quite happily on unpaved paths, so I would hate to see them all paved in the name of universal access or otherwise.