22 Responses: 12 Comments and 10 Tweets

• Tweets that mention Franke James » Blog Archive » Let them walk on the road in 2011! -- Topsy.com says:

  January 9, 2011 at 8:01 pm

  […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lloyd Alter, Lis Duarte. Lis Duarte said: RT @frankejames: Do nice people shovel the sidewalk? See: Let them walk on the road in 2011! http://bit.ly/fmwJrf […]

• Treehugger: Lloyd Alter says:

  January 9, 2011 at 8:42 pm

  Whose Responsibility Is it To Keep Our Sidewalks Clear?

  “TreeHugger favourite Franke complains in one of her trademark photo essays that she is irked by unshovelled sidewalks. It is one of those contradictions, where the sidewalk is on city property. where we are not required to shovel the streets for cars, (the city has ploughs for that) but the sidewalks, for pedestrians, are the homeowners’ responsibility. Franke famously does not own a car and walks everywhere, so I am surprised by her complaint….“

• nancy (aka moneycoach) says:

  January 9, 2011 at 9:36 pm

  Well my first thought was: what a gorgeous neighbourhood and I wonder if I could afford to buy one of those properties (but if not, I can always consider Detroit).
  The sidewalks. My hunch is that indeed the cost/benefit of shovelling doesn’t seem worth it to the Owners Who Don’t Shovel. They are insufficiently aware of the Walks In Their World.
  if I *can* afford to buy one of those places, I hereby pledge to walk and re-walk and walk again in front of those houses (with my daschunds) so that the Owners Who Don’t Shovel get the message! :)
  ps – sometimes my mom and I don’t shovel up here in Yellowknife and it’s truly because my mom is literally too old and sometimes when I come home I’m just too tired.

• Daharja says:

  January 9, 2011 at 10:15 pm

  Hmmm…I’m just imagining a greener city council for Toronto, where the council has mini ploughs that shovel the footpaths, but the roadway outside each home is the owner’s responsibility!

  Now that would shake everyone up a bit!

  Why don’t you suggest it?

• Mary says:

  January 14, 2011 at 5:39 pm

  Another great photo essay! Your pictures reveal so much about neighbourhoods. Whenever snow falls on our street all the neighbours come out to shovel and reconnect. If someone is away we happily shovel their snow as well just as they would for us. The houses are very beautiful but I wouldn’t want to share the sidewalks with those people. I also wonder how much any of them walk. I’m sure they would be miffed if the streets for their precious cars weren’t plowed.

• Terrell wong says:

  January 15, 2011 at 8:26 pm

  I shovel my sidewalk… Ok that’s out of the way…so I must be “good people”. I just wanted to note a small benefit from those who don’t. On a quiet night while jogging it’s like running on a beach. The extra work and coordination make it fun. Too bad this is only true for those fit enough to enjoy it. Ps I hate when the trucks with plows clear the driveway and dump it on the road……

• Christine says:

  January 24, 2011 at 3:01 pm

  This sounds cliche, but a man was hit and killed across the street from my home, walking in the street. You can bet after that everyone in the hood got religion and started clearing their sidewalks. (Yes, I had done mine that night, but he was on the other side of the street.) In my city (Quincy, MA) it is the homeowners responsibility to shovel, and the law that you must, and I think that is a reasonable burden, and avoids a needless way to spend my tax dollars. Also, those sidewalk machines can really do a number on any cobblestone similar curbing you may have installed. BUT, it is not enforced, so people are at risk. It must be enforced, with fines to those who don’t clear the walks within 24 hours, and the city coming in to do it after 24 hours. Could be a great revenue source. One way or another, it should not be allowed to force pp onto the street. My two cents. Thanks for keeping treehugging alive and well!

• Franke James says:

  January 25, 2011 at 11:23 am

  Thnx Christine for your comment. Pedestrian safety is a big concern. When I first posted about this topic in 2008, there were a record number of pedestrian fatalities in Toronto.

• Tammy says:

  January 29, 2011 at 12:36 pm

  …And imagine how people using wheelchairs feel about those unshovelled sidewalks! I have seen many forced to use the road to get around on, so dangerous! They don’t have the option of stepping up onto the snow to get out of the way…

• C.J. says:

  January 31, 2011 at 5:07 pm

  I’m with Daharja on changing the “responsibility” for shoveling. Of course, I live in a place where we rarely get snow (South Carolina, USA), plus my rural area has no sidewalks at all. I think the saddest thing to me about this is that my location is not at all walk-friendly. The few sidewalks in town are in horrible disrepair. How can I, as a citizen, improve my town and neighborhood’s “walkability”?

• Rebecca Whetstine says:

  February 27, 2011 at 7:54 pm

  Franke! I’ve never known you to be CRANKY! :)…

  Love your thought as always, my Applied Creative Enviro sister up North.

• Franke James says:

  February 28, 2011 at 10:31 am

  Rebecca,

  Oh yes. Unshoveled walks make me cranky, muttering to myself… BUT when a homeowner is outside shoveling their walk — THEN I praise them lavishly. Just yesterday I said enthusiastic thank you’s twice… of course they had no idea about this post, and what the backstory is.

  Thanks for your “slice’em, dice’em” late-night TV comment too.

  Cheers,

  Franke

Twitter: 10 (Showing 10)