Drivers happy; pedestrians less so

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Drivers happy; pedestrians less so

March 13, 2008 by walkerevans

COMMENTING ON THE CLEANUP
Drivers happy; pedestrians less so
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
BY ROBERT VITALE
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

In the streets of Columbus yesterday, city plows and above-freezing temperatures helped finish off the near-blizzard of 2008. On the sidewalks, however, slipping and sliding continued.

As people engaged in a favorite winter pastime — the post-storm postmortem over government street-clearing — they also began pointing fingers at one another about whether businesses and homeowners did their part by shoveling safe paths for pedestrians.

Despite repeated reminders that property owners risk a $100 fine for failing to clear walkways, Columbus officials reported yesterday that they’ve issued no tickets to the scofflaws.

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Posted in Auto X-ing, Pedestrian X-ing | 5 Comments

5 Responses to “Drivers happy; pedestrians less so”

on March 17, 2008 at 7:40 am1 Eric

I’m glad someone is bringing this up! I was snowed in from walking to work on Monday and Tuesday and had to hurdle a few huge snow mounds just to get to my COTA stop.

Don’t worry though…car traffic was flowing smoothly.
on March 17, 2008 at 9:58 am2 Sheryl

I visited Columbus for a few days right after the storm and I was appalled. Sidewalks on major streets were only sporadically cleared and institutions with young and disabled patrons did not have workers clear sidewalks. I had to walk in the middle of College (near Bexley) or across snow, which, I guess, was acceptable because all lanes of traffic were flowing normally.
on March 17, 2008 at 10:19 am3 walkerevans

It is up to the property owners to keep the sidewalks clear though. Perhaps the city should have been doling out some fines.

Honestly though, it’s not like this is was a standard snowfall. Typically when we only get an inch or two at a time, the sidewalks are still walkable even without shoveling.
on March 17, 2008 at 11:42 am4 Buckeyeb

I work in Westerville ans practically no one shovels sidewalks there, even when we get much less snow. I’m thinking of complaining to City Hall. Plows heap the snow on sidewalks and no one can walk until the snow melts.

I live in Clintonville and I noticed most people were out the Sunday after the storm and had their walkways shoveled out by evening. There were some who did not and even most of these were done the next day or two.

The problem was on High St. Plows pushed snow into walkways and most business owners didn’t shovel for quite some time. Intersections were a mess as well. You had to climb over huge heaps of snow to cross streets. Easy enough for an able-bodied person, but not for anyone else!

I really do think advocates need to start raising the issue with the City. Pedestrians need to able to get around as well as motorists.
on March 17, 2008 at 11:44 am5 Buckeyeb

One note about Westerville. I am referring to the main north-south street in town, State Street. The sidewalks in adjoining neighborhoods are cleard by homeowners pretty well. It’s just the mai drag that is, welll…a drag!