Homepage

Syracuse Agrees On A New Snow Proposal Syracuse Agrees On A New Snow Proposal

By Tamar Turner

Tamar: Getting around Syracuse in the snow is difficult for residents, especially those with disabilities.

Komar: It hasn’t been easy, all my life that I’ve lived here, my adult life with driving, parking, and getting around especially on the sidewalks.

Tamar: With traveling comes safety, and that is the number one priority for the city of Syracuse and its residents.

Greene: And the fact that we are not able to give them safe passage to be able to walk in their community is unacceptable. So we want to be able to have a plan that will take care of that problem and hopefully be able to allow them to be able to get to where they want to go…in the winter.

Tamar: A plan that will be implemented today…and it includes…

Greene: So they’re going to be removing snow from 20 miles of city streets…so if you count both sides of the street it’ll be 40 miles that are kind of main thoroughfares where you see a lot of pedestrians.

Tamar: But you won’t see contractors clearing the sidewalks every time it snows, but only when it is three inches or above. So that is from about ankle-level and up.

Tamar: The program is keeping people out of the streets, because despite the weather and conditions, people still need to get around.

Komar: I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that people with disabilities don’t go out, they stay home all the time. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Tamar: But with the new program in place, the mood has began to shift.

Komar: This kind of thing definitely needs, attention and I appreciate anybody who’s going to be out there doing the manual labor.

Tamar: While people with disabilities will certainly benefit, it will affect the entire community.

Greene: The people that are most likely to walk…it’s kids going to school, it’s people that don’t own a car, it’s the elderly that might get hit. So it’s the most vulnerable people in our city.

Tamar: The program is set to begin today and won’t end until the last snowfall for the year. Tamar Turner, N-C-C News.

Syracuse is no stranger to winter storms and travel conditions being affected as a result. The amount of the snow that the city receives during the winter causes residents to have to proceed along the roads and sidewalks with caution.

In prior years Syracuse has been working to establish a snow removal program when it comes to the sidewalks, but nothing proved to be successful.

“The fact that we are not able to give them safe passage to be able to walk in their community is unacceptable,” said Syracuse Councilor at Large Michael Greene.

However, all of this has changed as of this year after the city has agreed to hire JSK Snow Services. These contractors will be responsible for clearing snow from 20 miles of city sidewalks, but it will be 40 miles in total after doing both sides of each street.

As a result, this will help resident all around the city, especially those with disabilities.

“I am looking forward to this new program and I hope the dedication stays consistent,” said Move Along participant Eric Komar.

Komar says that getting around Syracuse for the past few years has been far from easy.

“People often think that if you’re in a wheelchair that you just sit in the house all day,” said Komar.

However, his weekly routine consists of working, going to the gym, and even playing wheelchair basketball at the local recreation center.

The current agreement is a pilot program and will only last until the end of the winter, but Syracuse and its residents are hopeful that this is something that will expand and continue for many years to come.

The contractors will be seen clearing the sidewalks any time that it snows three or more inches.

Related Articles