Make sure sidewalks are cleared of snow

Date: March 6, 2007 Section: Main

I was deeply saddened to read about the family struck by a drunken driver walking on a Schenectady
street because the sidewalk was obstructed by snow - more than one week after the snowstorm.
Two days earlier, I was driving at 7:30 p.m. on a narrow one-way street in my Albany neighborhood
when I passed a woman pushing her child in a stroller against traffic. More recently, I slipped and fell.
Well-shoveled walks contribute to our quality of life. Some property owners clear their entire sidewalk,
while others shovel a narrow path not suitable for a parent holding a preschooler's hand or pushing a
stroller, a person in a wheelchair, or a senior citizen with a shopping cart.
In Albany, cars are towed and hefty fines doled out to plow streets during a snow emergency, but what
is done to ensure neighborhood sidewalks are clear for city residents and our visitors? I believe the
lives of those on foot are as valuable as those in automobiles - but what's the message sent when we do
little to make our communities walkable and wheelchair-accessible?
LEAH GOLBY
Albany

Technical problems: If you have a technical problem with your account please e-mail
newslibrary@newsbank.com.

Copyright, 2007, (c) Times Union. All Rights Reserved