Winter walking obstacles
DAVID COLE/Staff writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 11 months AGO
<p>Kyler Scott, center, trudges through ankle-deep snow along Highway 95 in Coeur d'Alene with his mother, Rene Hall, on their commute to gather groceries on Tuesday. Hall, 50, sold her car a year ago due to her preference of traveling by foot.</p>
<p>Rene Hall walks with her son, Kyler Scott, along a snow-laden sidewalk on Tuesday on Bosanko Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. Hall and Scott, who do not drive cars, often find the sidewalks they walk on not shoveled, making commutes for pedestrians more difficult. For most sidewalks, it is up to the businesses near them to clear them of snow.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE — Snow and ice piled up recently on sidewalks and some businesses and property owners failed to keep them cleared. Pedestrians noticed.
"None of the businesses in Coeur d'Alene think it's their job," said Rene Hall, 50, of Coeur d'Alene.
She walks to and from work and for errands like trips to the grocery store. The condition of sidewalks along Government Way, Appleway and Kathleen avenues and other steets forced her to walk in the street in places and climb onto snow berms to avoid traffic.
"It's been really treacherous and hazardous," Hall said Tuesday.
"Just because it's winter doesn't mean the pedestrians are off the sidewalks," said Dani Lundquist, 25, of Coeur d'Alene. "We don't carry shovels everywhere we go."
Sidewalks piled with snow and ice forced Lundquist to walk in streets in places, too.
Walking to work, according to Hall, has taken longer.
"It was taking an hour and a half to go a mile down the road," Hall said.
Renata McLeod, Coeur d'Alene city clerk, said the city's code enforcement officer reaches out to businesses to remind them of the duty.
"He has a nice conversation with folks to ensure compliance," McLeod said.
People can face a misdemeanor charge if they refuse to comply, she said.
Virgil Edwards, an independent living specialist at Disability Action Center in Coeur d'Alene, said the people he works with feel rejected when walkways, sidewalks and entrances to businesses aren't cleared.
"Businesses turn away people when they don't do that," Edwards said.
Property owners or occupants also must clear snow from sidewalks in the city of Hayden.
"If there is an issue present, the property owner receives a notice that informs them of the code violation and the need to bring the property into compliance," City Clerk Vicki Rutherford said Tuesday.
Post Falls takes a different approach.
"We do not have an ordinance requiring the shoveling of sidewalks," said city of Post Falls spokeswoman Kit Hoffer. "It's come up before the council several times," but no requirement was established.
Post Falls Public Services Director Russ Connole said the city hasn't heard from anyone about sidewalks not being cleared for pedestrians in the city.
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