It’s that time of year, where you see people walking in the street because the sidewalks are full of snow, or you have to brave death and do it yourself.
It’s one of the more remarkable double-standards — or inequities — in transportation: Clearing streets of snow is a non-negotiable priority for public agencies, but safe routes for pedestrians are left to a piecemeal private system that mostly fails.
We wanted to highlight a couple of cities that are doing more than most to keep sidewalks clear for pedestrians. The good news is, more cities are starting to recognize clear sidewalks as an important quality-of-life and equity issue that deserves public support.
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a clear leader. The city plows all 878 miles of sidewalks whenever it snows four inches or more.
The
Democrat and Chronicle reports that the city farms the job out to private contractors, many of whom are farmers, whose work is at a lull during the winter months. The service is paid for by a fee added to property tax bills that is based on the length of the sidewalk associated with the property. The local blog,
Rochester Subway, reports it costs the average homeowner about $40 per year.
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington has one the best snow-removal policies we could find. The city clears sidewalks using public equipment and staff (parks workers). Unfortunately, sidewalks are cleared only after all the roads.
It sometimes takes as long as 48 hours to clear all the sidewalks, according to City Hall. In the meantime, the city prioritizes major pedestrian corridors.
The Twin Cities
Both Minneapolis and St. Paul require homeowners to clear sidewalks. But if they do not — and the city receives a complaint — workers will clear the sidewalks and bill the homeowners or landlords. According to
MPR News, about 1,000 St. Paul homeowners and 750 Minneapolis homeowners were billed for shoveling in 2013.
But the process takes a long time. First, the city will write a letter. The fine is $150. It takes about three days for the sidewalks to eventually be cleared, said Bill Lindeke, a local urbanist blogger.
But Minneapolis has been studying taking over sidewalk shoveling from residents. Public Works
estimates it would cost between $4.5 and $6 million a year to plow sidewalks four to five times per year. A more continuous plowing schedule, including plowing at lighter snow levels, could cost as much as $20 million a year — and that’s after about $5 million in upfront costs for equipment.
The study follows a campaign by the advocacy group Our Streets Minneapolis. Minneapolis has been studying Rochester’s program for inspiration.
The group’s president Maria Wardoku told Streetsblog that when it snows, sidewalks in Minneapolis are “inconsistent.”
