Survey: faster sidewalk clearing or faster plowing of side streets

I think the city should choose option B and plow the residential streets more faster.

In my street, after big snowfall the plow come only after two days. During this time it is very hard to drive. Last winter my car was stuck in front of my house and my neighbour and me had to push it. I was late to work two times because of this problem. Many people in my area use car for go to work, because the bus is not close.

Also, it is important for safety. If the street is full of snow, ambulance or fire truck can't come quickly when there is emergency. This is very dangerous, specially for old people.

I know sidewalks are important too, for people who walk or take the bus. But I think people can walk on the snow more easy than a car can drive. So for me option B is better choice for our city.

I would choose Option A, clearing sidewalks and bus stops faster.

First, many people in our city don't drive. Students, seniors and people who can't afford a car depend on walking and taking the bus. When the sidewalks are covered with snow for three days, it is very difficult and even dangerous for them to get around. Last winter, I saw an older man fall near the bus stop on my street because the snow had turned into ice.

Also, if the bus stops are not cleared, people have to wait on the road or climb over big piles of snow to get on the bus. This is especially hard for parents with strollers and people in wheelchairs.

Of course, plowing residential streets sooner would also be useful for drivers. However, cars can usually still move slowly on snowy streets, but a person who falls on the ice can get seriously hurt.

For these reasons, I think clearing sidewalks faster is the better choice.

I'd urge the city to put the money into faster sidewalk and bus-stop clearing.

A three-day wait might be a nuisance for drivers, but for anyone on foot it can be genuinely isolating. My neighbour, who is eighty-one and walks with a cane, stayed indoors for most of last February because the path to her bus stop was a ridge of packed ice. She missed two medical appointments, which for a senior is not a minor inconvenience.

The same problem affects far more people than we tend to imagine: parents pushing strollers into the road because the sidewalk is impassable, wheelchair users who simply cannot reach the bus, students waiting in the slush beside traffic. Clearing within 24 hours would also make transit a realistic option in winter, which may take a few cars off of the roads.

I don't dismiss the value of plowing side streets sooner; emergency access matters. Still, most residential streets remain passable with careful driving and winter tires, whereas an icy sidewalk leaves a pedestrian with no alternative.

For that reason, Option A would do more good for more residents.