Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) – Throughout the past few weeks, all eyes have been on the new Sidewalk Snow Removal Pilot Program, but businesses downtown aren’t as concerned with the walkways as they are the roadways.
The new program, approved in January by the Syracuse Common Council, pays JSK Snow Services up to $170,000 to clear 40 miles of city sidewalks. JSK will step in once at least three inches of snow has accumulated.
But for Mark Letizia, the operations manager for Original Grain, the sidewalks being clear are not nearly as much of a problem for business as the roads being clear.
“What I worry the most about is the streets,” he said. “The sidewalk actually is really good. The streets are really bad.”
Original Grain is located on South Salina Street, at the corner of East Fayette Street. This is one of the busiest intersections in the city, says Letizia, and the near constant presence of cars, often illegally parked, makes clearing the roads that much more difficult.
“I think it’s not anyone’s fault other than the fact the streets are covered with cars,” Letizia said.
According to Letizia, when the streets are not clear is when he loses the most business because he can’t handle delivery orders.
“There’s not enough drivers, they’ll say I’m not gonna work, so our business will go down there,” he says.
Letizia’s suggestion is for Syracuse to try and find a way to better combat the issue of parking and cars blocking the roads, to help the plows clear the streets more efficiently.
“I think there should be some sort of initiative to, somehow, someway, if there’s a way to get these people to move, so it could just be cleared, because it takes days after a big storm,” he says. “If there’s a way to do that, that will help.”
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The snow piles up quickly downtown, and it can often be difficult to keep sidewalks and roads clear and safe.
© 2019 Thomas Russo -
Keeping this sidewalk clear is often a daily challenge in the winter but businesses downtown are more concerned with the street.
© 2019 Thomas Russo
