Luna and I posing in snowy Printers Row Park., That’s me in the red coat, Luna in the black coat.
Every winter here in Chicago I find myself questioning why it is that when snow plows clear passage for cars, the snow mounds they leave on curb cuts and crosswalks go unshoveled. What about the pedestrians? This article in Forbes says it well:
Plowing equipment exists that can clear sidewalks at least as efficiently as streets are cleared by conventional plows. College campuses and companies with large and complex facilities use them. But very few cities take full responsibility for clearing sidewalks the way they all do for clearing streets. And by and large, either taxpayers don’t want to fund it, or politicians don’t want to risk asking. So while some winter weather cities and towns are better than others for winter accessibility, very few do a genuinely good job of it.
Temperatures are hitting record lows (and are staying there) in many parts of the country this week. With so many people working or attending school classes from home due to COVID-19 regulations this winter, many Americans are spending less time in their cars and more time walking or bicycling outside. In our neighborhood, the city has plowed bike paths, but walking on snowy icy sidewalks to take short breaks from work, run errands, help neighbors, or just get exercise has been difficult. For friends who use wheelchairs, it’s been impossible.
We appreciate city services plowing the streets, but if they don’t clear the crosswalks, curb cuts and sidewalks , how can pedestrians get safely across to the other side? In addition to people with certain disabilities, other parts of the U.S. population do not drive, including:
- Children
- Many people age 65 or better
- Those who cannot afford a personal vehicle
- A growing number of people who simply choose not to drive.
Sidewalks and crosswalks are necessary for all of us who don’t drive. More from that Forbes article:
If this was purely a weather problem, then disabled people would have no choice but to endure, or somehow find a way to move to warmer climates. But winter weather accessibility barriers are also a policy and practice problem. Winter weather would be substantially less of a problem if cities and towns made it a higher priority.
Maybe we pedestrians all need to band together?? In the meantime, hang in there — it’s all gotta melt sometime.
A longer version of this post appeared on the Easterseals National blog earlier this week.
So true. A real problem that remains, in the main, unsolved.
I’m in if anyone else wants to band together. Any idea for how to get the ball rolling?
Note: I suspect a protest march would NOT be our first step.
😉
Or how about this one: the bus door opens, and you’re looking down at a heap of snow that you have to step into or try to jump over. It won’t help to call your alderman, because you’re not getting off the bus in your own ward. Aaargh!
Forgive me, Mel. I avoided mentioning bus stops in this piece b/c so few people are using them during these pandemic days. I should have included in the essay, though, because essential workers and such sure need to be able to get on buses (and off buses!) to get to and from work. able to get to and from work
I’ve been saying this for years. Real estate listings give “walkability ratings”. The idea of downtown living is to walk! People are walking on the bike routes because they are cleared of snow and ice. Grrrr.
Grrrrr for sure. I can’t let my Seeing Eye dog lead me in the shoveled bike paths: I don’t want her to think that, come Spring, she can lead me down those all the time.
As a walker of “age 65 or better”, I agree wholeheartedly with being alert to these snow challenges. While we are looking for solutions, let’s consider heated sidewalks like in Holland, Michigan. While we are at it, we can go one step further by looking for SOLAR solutions to heating sidewalks! I wonder where else in the world this has been done already!?!
Good question. I am the wrong person to ask though — I didn’t even know they had heated sidwalks in (relatively) nearb Holland, Michigan.
I’m sitting here waiting on an appt and Karen’s comment about solar sidewalks sent me down an internet wormhole. Who knew? Seems like lots of mountain towns….although, the richer ones like Park City, have them. Japan, of course. And Norway. Such a great idea. And saving heart attacks , which shoveling is uniquely designed to cause. Maybe our new transportation secretary Pete Butteigeg would include this…. jobs program to place these in high density areas?
Yes! Great ida, and Pete Butteigeg is the right man for the job.
What happened to fines for not shoveling. Toss a few handfuls of salt does not clear sidewalks but temporarily melts some snow that then freezes and become ICE. What about weekends? So we can only count on shoveling during work days?? What are workdays in this Pandemic? Over fallen several times trying to negotiate snow drifts at corners and driveways. And many building owners and managers are doing a horrible job of maintaining the sidewalks in front of their buildings! I don’t know about you but my I can’t tightrope the shovel wide paths that some are only shoveling . I would guess that the demographics of our neighborhoods lean towards older walkers!
Yes, and a lot more younger people are choosing not to own cars now as well –they can fall, too! I know what you mean about those very narrowly-shoveled sidewalks. They challenge my hard-working Seeing Eye dogs, they are taught not to lead us into passages that are too narrow for a dog and a person to get through side-by-side.
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