Justice
Snow Removal With Wheelchair Users in Mind
A lack of citizen awareness, not to mention accountability, can leave some residents stuck in their homes much longer than others.
Cleaning up after a snowstorm is no small feat. While many U.S. cities see the threat of impending snow as routine, others are notoriously under-equipped to deal with snow emergencies. This lack of preparedness can strike particularly hard at wheelchair users, who already face difficulties navigating snow on their own.
Although there is arguably a certain logic to which streets get attention from snowplows first, the priority in many cities seems to lie less with individual citizens and more with clearing major roads for cars to pass. After the recent blizzard in New York, for instance, residents noted the juxtaposition of clear roads and snow-covered crosswalks.