I’m glad someone is finding it easy to get around in the ice and snow (“Thank you for clearing bike paths,” Gazette, Dec. 22). I haven’t been on the bike path recently but it sounds like it might be in better shape than the roads or sidewalks! Kudos from one lady who rides her bike to another. I’m not likely to be riding unless the street is dry and the temperature is above freezing. Sunshine helps. I don’t know what the temperature was on the day letter writer references, or the wind chill factor, but for many of us that have a choice i.e. another way to get where we need to go, we wouldn’t choose or could not ride in the cold windy weather we’ve had lately. I would drive instead. But for the one-third of people in the U.S. who cannot drive due to age, ability, income and other factors, that is not a choice.
Why plow the bike path and not the sidewalks, especially downtown and in the feeder neighborhoods within easy walking distance to downtown? Statistically, most people must— or choose to— walk rather than ride a bicycle in any kind of weather. Walking from necessity, to access services, food, work or public transportation is linked to income; people in lower income brackets walk more. And, they must walk despite the condition of the sidewalks, or the inclement weather. Walkability in all kinds of weather is a social justice issue.
It’s not that people who drive don’t have their downtown sidewalk clearing challenges as well. Every day I see people struggling to get from their car onto the sidewalk when there is a foot or more of snow and ice between them and the parking meter. What about the slippery sidewalk ramps often deep with slush that no one is clearing. And then, there is the ongoing problem of people, property owners or institutions, failing to clear their sidewalks of snow and ice.
I think the city, the Bike and Pedestrian Committee, and bicycle enthusiasts, spend a disproportionate amount of time, energy and public resources on bicycle infrastructure and concerns of bicyclists, ignoring the most basic infrastructure and safety concerns for the majority, for the most democratic form of transportation that affects the most residents: walking.
My concern is “not only” that sidewalk construction/repair/maintenance has been seriously underfunded for decades or that sidewalks are not plowed in the winter. My concern is that city planning, despite the increased attention to the importance of walkability, has not articulated a concrete plan, along with a budget to address the very serious walkability infrastructure issues in the city. I’m not talking about street-by-street, fixing a sidewalk here and another there, but the “big picture” of sidewalks and walkability that exists throughout the city. I urge the mayor and new configuration of councilors to work with already concerned residents to create a working group to address this pressing issue, to develop a plan and a sustainable budget.
Claudia Lefko lives in Northampton.