John,
That's a real good question. Thank you for bringing up this subject. I
have several comments on this. I have been impressed by snow removal I
have seen on Moscow School District Sidewalks and most businesses downtown.
There are two connecting walkways that I use on most days. One connects
Sixth Street and Cleveland (near Lena Whitmore school) the other connects
Cleveland and D Street along a playfield (near the Junior High). The
walkway near the Junior High is always cleared within one day of a snow (I
think by the School District because it is done the same time the parking
lot is done), and the one between Sixth and Cleveland is never cleared.
This second walkway goes between two homes to connect the streets, but it
seems like it should be a City responsibility.
Even in this light snowfall year, I too have noticed that many homeowners
don't have their sidewalks cleared. I wonder if anything is being done
about this. And what about the new sidewalk on Steiner? Who is supposed
to clear that? There are also many businesses along Highway 8 towards
Pullman and Troy that fail to clear their sidewalks. Perhaps the Chamber
should work with those businesses.
My last comment is about the lack of snow removal on the new bike lanes. In
fact I have observed that snow is actually stored in the new bike lanes on
Sixth Street, Highway 8 and Steiner. In the past, the City has done curb
to curb removal of snow on arterials at night time. It seems now that snow
is pushed into bike lanes and left there. Bicyclists will ride year
around, and snow removal plans ought to recognize this.
Tom