Current Chicago law stipulates that property owners are responsible for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks, but a new proposal could someday lead to the city taking over that responsibility.
By a 49-1 vote, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to create a working group to determine the steps forward for the “Chicago Plow the Sidewalk” program.
Those steps include identifying neighborhoods where the pilot program will be implemented, and then funding the necessary infrastructure to ensure that sidewalks in those neighborhoods will be cleared of ice and snow in the coming months.
“It’s important that as a world class city, we ensure all Chicagoans and those visiting Chicago have the ability to navigate our city freely and participate in the local business ecosystem,” Ald. Gilbert Villegas said in a statement.
Activists have praised the proposed ordinance as helping individuals with disabilities to get around the city even in the event of severe winter weather.
“Every winter people with disabilities lose their ability to fully access the community, to participate in society due to uncleared snow and ice throughout the city,” Laura Saltzman, a transportation policy analyst with Access Living, said in a statement. “Plowing the Sidewalks would help to restore that access, allowing disabled residents and tourists alike to use portions of Chicago that become lost whenever obstructed sidewalks are ignored or improperly cleaned.”
Some members of the City Council did voice concerns about the potential program, arguing that it could become overly cumbersome to manage and that they could face a deluge of calls if a particularly-large snow event were to strike the city.
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Still, others like Ald. Andre Vasquez say that the program could provide jobs in a similar way to youth-employment programs undertaken by the city during the summer.
“I propose we have ‘One Summer’ and we have ‘One Winter,’” Vasquez said during the hearing.
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The proposal will still take time to be implemented. The pilot program will be discussed among multiple departments, as well as the council’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, and recommendations will be presented by next May.
