In the United States, automobiles get first priority on our streets. That should be no surprise if you've grown up here. Unfortunately this can lead to some pretty miserable consequences for pedestrians, especially when it comes to snow clearance. Cities and towns are required to plow public roads, but not sidewalks. Citing high costs, municipalities place the responsibility of snow removal from sidewalks on the business and home owners. In some cities and states, they property owners are not required to shovel or plow at all.
Because I missed the 4:50pm train from Boston North Station, I had to take the 5:20pm train that does not stop at Brandeis/Roberts. As a consequence, I had to walk 1.7 miles from the station in downtown Waltham. I took this picture at the most well-lit portion of the walk (under the bright lights of a 99 Restaurant parking lot, not the municipal street lights).
I promise there's a sidewalk here. See how well the street is cleared? At least six plows passed me, scraping the pavement as they zoomed by, but only three business owners and three homeowners were in the process of shoveling the sidewalk. All of the pedestrians had to trudge through the slush, both soaking their shoes and risking their safety.
I propose either: 1) taxpayers allocate the necessary funds to have the city/town plow the sidewalks or; 2) municipalities re-prioritize snow removal based on the amount of environmental damage done by each method of transport: bicycle lanes and sidewalks first, bus and streetcar lanes second, and automobile-only lanes last.
In an automobile-dominated nation, someone has to speak for the pedestrians.
