Pedestrian in No-Plow Winter Rochester

I’ve said it before, but being a pedestrian in Rochester in winter is not for the faint of heart. We live in one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Rochester. And this is a picture of the walk to work this morning. There is a bus stop less than 50 yards ahead at the intersection of Culver and East. The walk actually improved a bit with the freshly fallen snow, because it had been an icy tundra from the combo of snow, sun, freezing temps and little care given to clearing. And this was just a regular few inches kind of snow Rochester is used to; no panic-at-the-disco unexpected blizzard.

When we first moved here, I witnessed this magical thing that occurred when I peered out the front window after the first snow — a sidewalk snow plow. My husband said that was one of his favorite things about winter here. For him, it’s like the joy others feel when they hear the first birds chirping when spring arrives.

I have always lived in cities where you are responsible for your own stretch of sidewalk in front of your house. And after a storm, everyone was out before and after work doing their part. Now, I have never lived anywhere where it snows regularly like it does here. DC is the closest I got and we all know how famous DC is for shutting everything down at the hint of snow. But everyone was still out shoveling when the snow hit (school may have been canceled, but everyone was out shoveling).

What Rochester has is a unique thing. Madison, WI has a similar program. Many of the towns and villages around Rochester plow the sidewalks too. But sidewalk plowing is a rare service in this country. Residents in Buffalo (yes, Buffalo) used Rochester as an example when petitioning the city to begin a municipal plow service.

The city’s sidewalk plowing is a “supplemental service to help property owners clear their sidewalks during a substantial winter storm.” It’s described as a partnership between residents and the city (paid for by taxes, of course).

Notice something in that picture above — East Ave, a main path for cars to come in and out of the city, was plowed. But the sidewalk along that avenue (again, in one of Rochester’s most walkable neighborhoods) hasn’t been given much love throughout the winter. The sidewalk has looked like this for weeks, minus the fresh coating on snow on top. Emergency vehicles, bikes and cars need clear roads, so the roads should be given priority. But the sidewalks should be somewhere in the general pecking order so people can safely get to bus stops and elsewhere on foot.

Now it’s not all the city’s fault. The city plows are deployed when there is 4″ of freshly fallen snow. Prior to that, it’s up to us property owners to keep things clear. And if you look around, you’ll see that last part is patchy at best. It’s been a light snow season, so I think we’ve seen the sidewalk plows once. Most people I talk to say the plows will come out when it gets bad enough. That means in a season like this, you get a well-formed sheet of ice from previous light snows and melt that no one has cleared. And once that pattern starts, you’d need a bulldozer to shovel that up. So the sidewalks are actually more dangerous to walk on than the streets.

I think many people don’t shovel their stretch of sidewalk because they assume the sidewalk plows will come regularly during the winter. I don’t believe they are flipping the bird to pedestrians; they just think the plows will come. (The photo at right is the beautiful work of sidewalk plows after a big storm in 2012.)

I’m not a fan of giving people tickets when they don’t clear sidewalks by a certain time. There are all sorts of reasons people can’t clear their walks immediately after a storm. But if most neighbors clear their walks, peer pressure is there to encourage others to participate in some form or other and, by and large, the sidewalks will be much easier to traverse.

I do wish the sidewalk plows would deploy more. We pay taxes toward the service (via a fee in our property taxes). And I can’t tell if we just got more snow the first four winters we lived here or if the sidewalk plow service has gone downhill.

If we are a city committed to creating a more walkable Rochester, we need to place more emphasis on making it easier to actually walk and take the bus all year round. Anyone who has had to traverse a post-plowed blocked intersection over a mound of snow uphill both ways just to find the bus stop knows what I’m talking about.

How are the sidewalks in your neighborhood or where you work? Have you seen the sidewalk plows this season?

Hop on over here to read the City of Rochester Sidewalk Removal policy and the details of the city code on residential snow removal.

Written by: Renee
Tags: pedestrian safety rochester, mass transit rochester, walkability, walkability rochester, sidewalk plows rochester, rochester ny snow removal, rochester ny snow removal policy, snow removal policy rochester,

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  Renee

  Thanks for your comment, Brian! I wonder what the policy is on the bike trails. I don’t remember seeing anything in the city guidelines; I’ll see what I can find out. I’m with you! If this city strives to be more walkable/bikable, clearing snow on those pathways needs to be part of the overall plan. Frankly, on a day like today, I’d prefer to walk or bike because it’s safer!