I was buoyed by an exchange I heard this afternoon between Mayor Duffy and a caller to Bob Smith’s show on 1370 AM. The caller, someone associated with the Center for Disability Rights (great group, by the way), complimented Duffy on the way his Environmental Services staff are caring for the sidewalks. Last winter, as Duffy recalled on-air, city officials went up to Lake Avenue and at the invitation of CDR folks, attempted to navigate walkways there via wheelchair. Needless to say, they didn’t get far.

Since then, according to the caller, the walkways (at least in the vicinity of CDR) are in good shape. Still, the mayor’s admirable concern doesn’t necessarily translate into good conditions elswhere. Late this afternoon I biked from my house in the Highland Park neighborhood to the Cumberland Street post office. (BTW, I encourage all to do their postal business at this branch and by so doing, boost downtown a little.) At many points in downtown and the Monroe-Meigs area I saw unmaintained sidewalks and intersections that would force wheechair users (or elders with walkers or canes, etc.) into the streets.

But the streets, too, were littered with spots that would challenge anyone trying to get from point A to point B – and would take down many and inexperienced bicyclist, especially if he/she didn’t have suitable tires (and these spots will of course get worse as the temperature drops tonight, making studded tires essential).

So we’ve got lots of work to do, whether through nonviolent direct action or “working within the system.”

Hey are you guys going to do any new pod cases? I rather enjoyed listening to them.

Keep up the fight!

My experiences over the years with Monroe Ave. bear this out. The most consistently responsible businesses are the small operators, like those around Monroe-Oxford, that do a pretty good shoveling job. (There are notable exceptions, like the law office at the corner of Monroe and Dartmouth, which has been a consistent shirker – and is thus one to watch this year.) And the worst offenders are the corporate chains, including Blockbuster as well as RAC.

In any case, I think we should speak frankly among ourselves. Is it only in America that leftist terminology draws reflexive finger-wagging?

Believe me, people have been working through channels (public and private) to get proper snow removal. As a journalist, I’ve written about the problems for a long time: I’ve interviewed public officials, covered the efforts of disability-rights groups to get action from City Hall, and publicized the woes of elders and others who become housebound because of impassable sidewalks, etc. And as a private citizen, I’ve tried to engage the NET office, and have lodged complaints with City Hall about its own failure to clear walkways under municipal control, e.g. on the bridges. And I have to say, all this has pretty well come to naught, as can be seen with each new snowfall.

It’s a myth that the city doesn’t have time to enforce the law in this regard. All it takes is the issuance of tickets, and this can be done as easily as it is done with parking violations. The plain fact is, the city is not inclined to do much of anything. The policy comes down to this: millions for “zero tolerance,” but only pennies for alternative transportation. Officials don’t even do any serious education – so it’s no wonder people believe that the sidewalk plows take care of everything, relieving property owners and occupants of further responsibility.

Personally, I think only some kind of nonviolent direct action will get the ball rolling here. The disability rights movement has shown the way, with the judicious use of demonstrations and blockades and public shaming, along with standard lobbying and civic engagement.

Here are my suggestions that I have on this issue; Talk or write to the owners of the business and let them know your concerns as a citizen who must use the sidewalk. This may or may not help but it is worth a try. Next, talk to the city government as a group. I know this has been tried but maybe a couple of large groups hammering them may light a fire under the belly of the beast. How about press? As a group the press maybe willing to talk to you especially because the weather is a hot topic. Nothing upsets and motivates a business owner to make the right choices as bad press.

The biggest problem working against us is the fact that the cities’ first priority is to clear the roads for cars, buses, and emergency vehicles to travel safely on. So with all that is involved in clearing snow, the city doesn’t have time to chase down violators of the snow removal law. Business owners know this fact and take advantage of it. We are a minority, or as some view it as a kook fringe that use cycles to commute, so we are put very far down on the list of priorities. If you band together, point out the problem of snow covered sidewalks, be relentless and above all present this issue in a way that doesn’t make you look like a kook fringe, you could make a difference.

Good luck. Keep us posted on how this progresses.