The snow is continuing to pound Northeast Ohio, burying sidewalks and walkways, making it near impossible to use.
CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — The snow is continuing to pound Northeast Ohio, burying sidewalks and walkways, making it nearly impossible to use them.
Tiffany Wallace’s mom, who lives in Cleveland, is unable to shovel the sidewalk in front of her home.
“With her living alone, usually I’m able to get over to her house to help her out with her day-to-day operations, but because of all of the snow that we’ve been having, I have not been able to frequent her home as often as I like this week,” Wallace said.
Additionally, Wallace told me her elderly mom is on a fixed income and unable to pay for a snow removal service.
“This is the first time that I can say that I have seen snow like this in my lifetime. I always hear about the blizzard of 1978, which is the year I was born, so I have no idea what that was like, but I’m sure that this is probably a lot like that,” Wallace said. “I think about the senior citizens that probably live on her street that are also on fixed incomes, or have different types of abilities, and they’re not able to get out and do their driveways or their sidewalks. For that reason, I think it’s important for neighbors or anyone else to lend a hand when they can.”
Not only are residential areas being pounded by the snow, but also busy intersections like Halstead and Madison in Lakewood.
Rachel Cruz told me a corner of that intersection looked like it had been shoveled previously, but that a snowplow blew through shortly after, caking it in snow once again.
Because of that, she fears for the safety of anyone trying to cross those walkways.
“First of all, the kids, if they ever do go back to school, they’ll have to climb over two to three feet of snow piles, which at that point might already be frozen into rock-solid ice. My concern is, what if they’re climbing over them and they fall into the street? Or what if they are climbing over them and it takes them a long time, and then the light changes when they’re halfway across the street? My biggest concern is for the kids, and then you’ve got the elderly, disabled people who can’t even go on walks and cross the street,” Cruz said.
Cruz wants to see the City of Lakewood invest in sidewalk snowplows to help mitigate the problem.
Lakewood Councilman-At-Large Tom Bullock said the city already does that.
“When the heavy truck will put up a bank of snow, the city will try to then come back in a second pass and clear an access point, especially in high traffic intersections. We also have some sidewalk snow capacity when there’s a slope going uphill, around some RTA stops around some schools. It certainly isn’t perfect, and it’s especially challenging in a big heavy snow event like right now,” Bullock said.
Bullock added that some sidewalks are cleared, but not all.
Residential areas, Bullock said, are the responsibility of property owners, just as walkways near businesses are the responsibility of the owners as well.
The same goes for Cleveland.
Both cities said they’re trying their best to keep up with the continuous snowfall.
In Lakewood, Bullock said a local nonprofit by the name of Lakewood Alive offers volunteer snow removal for those in need.
For those in need of that support, elderly or disabled, you can learn more about Lakewood Alive’s resources through its website.
A similar program is run in Cleveland: Snow Heroes.
The program is the first of its kind in Cleveland, launched this year.
Snow Heroes step up to help Clevelanders when flakes pile up; help still needed
“What it does is it connects a volunteer to someone locally. We try to always connect someone within about a one-mile radius of their neighborhood, so you’re not traveling too far. Once you go through a background check, we make sure everything is safe in that regard,” City of Cleveland spokesperson Tyler Sinclair said.
Currently, 96 volunteers have signed up to help at least 132 people in need.
“It’s a tough time right now. I mean, it’s -5 degrees outside. It’s freezing. It’s a lot of snow. If you’re in your neighborhood, this is when Clevelanders come together and really just, you know, look out for each other,” Sinclair said.
Sinclair said even the city’s Public Works Director has signed up to volunteer.
“He’s truly the definition of a hero. He’s out there operating all of the trucks. Meanwhile, he’s not done when he goes home. He’s out there shoveling folks’ driveway as well. He’s doing a great job,” Sinclair said.
If you’re interested in volunteering, click HERE.
On the flip side, if you’re in need of a Snow Hero, click HERE.
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