The City absolutely, positively requires that business and residential property owners remove snow from their sidewalks. You’d think such a courtesy would be a matter of common sense for business owners. You’d be wrong.
Yesterday I watched a senior citizen in a wheelchair get stuck in the icy slush build-up at an intersection on Devon. None of the businesses had shoveled their walks, the CTA had not shoveled its bus stop, and the alderman’s snow corps had not shoveled anywhere, at least not east of California. Luckily, another senior was able to dig him out and help him into the street, where he at least had some chance of getting to his destination. He was furious, and demanded to know why businesses no longer seem to have any sense of responsibility.
It’s a good question. There was a time when businesses put out a little extra effort to turn passers-by into customers. Not anymore.
In my area, only a few businesses and landlords bother to shovel sidewalks, let alone intersections. Take my favorite screw-the-community business, Republic Bank.
Every year the snowplows remove every speck of snow from the bank’s huge parking lot and its ATM. Every year the snowplows park the snow on the 6400 blocks of both Washtenaw and Fairfield, always in parking spaces. Neighbors lost four parking spaces when the lot and ATM were constructed, but the bank needs more. And takes it. This year it took over one space on Washtenaw, even though there’s plenty of room in its lot to put the snow. The snowplow driver created a wall of snow behind one car on Fairfield, and this action has created an inaccessible end-of-street parking space.
Did I mention the plow did its work after 10:00 p.m.? And that the truck came back at midnight to plow yet another parking area behind the bank, and dumped this snow in the alley, creating a barrier that other drivers had to remove so they could get home/get to work? Or that as usual the bank neglected to shovel snow from one part of the sidewalk at its ATM, the part that’s even harder to maneuver since the ATM snow gets dumped there, too? Or that the bank couldn’t rouse itself to shovel out the intersections at the corners of its property on Devon and the E-W alley so pedestrians can get by?
There’s enough room on this huge property for the bank to put this snow. You’d think making crossing the street easier for pedestrians and not inconveniencing the neighbors would be a no-brainer.
You’d be wrong.
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- Fairfield & Devon, looking west. Would it really be such a burden to move the plow across this space for pedestrians?
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- Neighbors lost 4 parking spaces when the bank’s huge parking lot and its ATM were built. Every year, we lose two more to snow shoveled from the both areas onto parking spaces on the street. This is on Washtenaw.
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- This is the only section of sidewalk that’s never shoveled by Republic Bank, although it takes care to keep the ATM lanes snow-free. This view looks south from the E-W alley toward Devon.
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- The bank never shovels out intersections, although the construction business across the street is considerate enough to do so. This is Fairfield & Devon, looking south.
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- Washtenaw & Devon, looking east, from the bank parking lot to the restaurant.
I share your outrage and frustration, Follies. But how are violators, including residential property owners, held accountable?
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The city says report them to 311 and it will follow-up and issue tickets. I’ve never seen an inspector, nor have I ever found the system to work. There’s a vacant lot on my block owned by a man who lives in Skokie. The sidewalk is never shoveled, and that property and the one just south of it (also never shoveled) are a real hazard in winter. Both properties have been reported. If either owner was ticketed and fined, you’d never know it. The owners’ behavior hasn’t changed. This is what is so frustrating–irresponsible owners and an uncaring alderman, plus a city workforce that’s not responsive to citizen concerns, whatever the reason. It’s basically another feel-good law that isn’t enforced and is therefore meaningless.
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