Watch Your Step - Mr. Ducke (Creative Commons)

As I walked to the metro this morning, I realized that I saw a lot of sidewalks in my area that still had the awful combination of snow and ice all over them.  The first thing I thought is “why haven’t they shoveled”?  But I felt better when I realized that Arlington would quickly come down on those who didn’t shovel…

… I shouldn’t have been that hasty.  It turns out that Arlington, like many other counties and cities in the area, don’t require homeowners or businesses to shovel their sidewalks.  So although the streets are clear, the pedestrians are out of luck.

I don’t know about you – but I think that’s just ridiculous.  This isn’t a rural community with no sidewalks.  Plenty of people in the DC metro area have been convinced to give up commuting by car and walk to a bus stop, metro station, or to work.  So why don’t they require business and homeowners to clear their own sidewalks?

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