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Advocating for a slush fund: Plow the Sidewalks rally takes over City Hall

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On the morning of November 2nd a spirited group of people advocating for a municipal sidewalk snow removal pilot gathered in the corridors of the first level of City Hall. Supporters of Better Streets Chicago, a safe streets advocacy group of which I am a co-founder, and Access Living, an advocacy organization for people with disabilities, gathered to show their support for the city piloting city workers removing snow and ice from the sidewalk. Those in the crowd heard from one of the lead Better streets Chicago organizers for Plow the Sidewalks, a few Access Living constituents, safe streets advocates, and others.

One of the lead organizers for Plow the Sidewalks, Michael Podgers addressed the crowd stating that Chicagoans deserve year-round access to a fundamental component of our transportation system: sidewalks. Nearly a third of Chicagoans do not have access to a vehicle and many of their trips are taken by the CTA. Without universal access to the sidewalks, many people are impeded from taking transit trips within the winter months or at the very least have their journeys to and from transit made more difficult due to sidewalks filled with snow and ice.

Access Living, a disability rights advocacy group, was an early supporter and partner in the Plow the Sidewalks campaign. Some of their constituents shared their experiences navigating the city during the winter. One woman, Kathleen, shared being stuck in the snow for over an hour because a business did not shovel the snow in front of their business. She also mentioned that those with visual impairments face difficulty in the winter as well. “The city should plow the sidewalks in the same way they plow the sidewalks.”

Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th ward) sees the issue of sidewalk snow and ice removal as an issue of whether or not Chicago is a world-class city, “A world-class city needs to have clear sidewalks year round.”  Looking at signs created by supporters, some of which read, “Fines don’t shovel”, Villegas agreed that fines are not an effective way to ensure sidewalks are clear of snow and ice in the winter. Villegas is positive that money can be found for a pilot program; “If we can’t find a million dollars (within a $16 billion budget) for this, we might as well shut the door.” He stated that his staff will be working on drafting and submitting an ordinance for the Plow the Sidewalks pilot program.

Jim Merrell of the Active Transportation Alliance shared the organization’s support for the campaign. He shared a story of seeing a neighbor using a tiny plow to clear the sidewalk on his block. “If it’s possible on my block, I know it’s possible on yours.”

Another Access Living constituent shared her experience living between the Cermark Red Line and Cermak Green Line and having to use the street to reach either “L” stop. She has been stuck within the street and had dozens of people pass by her without offering to help. She also noted that visitors to the McCormick Center can often be seen pulling their luggage through the snow and slush. She urged the city to take over sidewalk clearance to make her navigation around the city safer.

Advocates at the rally at City Hall. Photo: Better Streets Chicago
Photo: Courtney Cobbs

Safe Streets advocate Jeremy Frisch shared his family’s experience navigating the snow in the winter. At the beginning of the pandemic, his family took up walking and wanted to continue it into the winter. They noticed that there were noticeably fewer people walking with their young children in the winter. Through conversations with neighbors they discovered many people with children gave up on going on walks due to difficulty navigating the snow and ice. Jeremy’s own wife stopped going on walks alone with her children and could only navigate pushing the stroller with her husband or mother’s help. Jeremy pointed out that the city’s current mechanism of enforcement doesn’t always lead to the sidewalk being cleared and fines are inequitable for those who cannot afford to pay someone to shovel their sidewalk and/or cannot physically do it themselves. “Given that close to 20,000 311 requests re: snow on the sidewalk were submitted in the last three years, this shows that impassable sidewalks are a real issue. Given how cumbersome it can be to fill out a 311 request, we’re likely underestimating just how big a problem this issue is. 100 percent of Chicagoans use the sidewalks and its time Chicago do what’s right and take the first step towards municipal snow and ice removal from our sidewalks.”

Lenny Sanchez of the Independent Driver’s Guild, an advocacy group for rideshare and food delivery gig workers, shared that clear sidewalks are important to gig workers given that many of them have to utilize the sidewalk for their work. Gig workers like those for UberEats, GrubHub, etc. sometimes slip on the sidewalk as they’re trying to deliver an order. Some rideshare riders have slipped getting in and out of rideshare vehicles. Sanchez was encouraged by the crowd and urged City Council to fund the pilot.

Lastly, Access Living constituent, Cherlnell Lane, shared her experience of being unable to leave her home during the winter months due to impassable sidewalks. Cherlnell shared that she’s a very active person and snow on the sidewalks cna impede her ability to attend entertainment, go to work, get groceries, etc. “This is not just a disability issue, this is a community issue. [Impassible sidewalks] stops everyone from getting to where they’re going. As Chicagoans, we should be able to travel wherever we want to travel no matter the season. Think about if you were unable to leave the premises of where you stay- this is the reality for many people when the sidewalks are not shoveled. We need to put the effort, time, and funding in to plow the sidewalks and make the city accessible for everyone.”

The rally concluded with Better Streets Chicago organizer Michael Podgers encouraging folks to take flyers about the Plow the Sidewalks campaign with them to distribute among neighbors, friends, colleagues, and to reach out to their alder to encourage them to support the Plow the Sidewalk pilot.

After the rally concluded, a few people went to give public comment for the City Council budget hearing. Two of the previous speakers for Access Living gave testimony and one other disabled person shared her experience of her wheelchair’s motor blowing out due to her efforts to remove herself from the snow. Jeremy Frisch provided testimony as well. When it was my turn to speak, I asked the Budget Committee to analyze what the city gained from their $13.5 million expenditure for the Chicago Moves program in which a majority of the funds went to gas cards. If the city can afford to fund gas cards, surely they can fund a municipal snow clearance program that ensures everyone can get to where they need to go. In thinking about my comments, I wish I had mentioned the need for a dedicated fund for bike lane maintenance, most especially in the winter months.

Right now a fifth of City Council members supports the pilot program. If you’d like to see your alder added to the list of supporters, there’s an email campaign regarding the pilot and creating a municipal snow and ice sidewalk removal.


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