In the snowstorm’s aftermath, local officials are telling people not to walk in the streets. But they’re not offering any alternatives to those who don’t drive.

Photo by Jason Vines on Flickr.

After the snowstorm, something magical happened. People began filling the streets, to play in the snow or to frequent the few businesses that managed to stay open. Across the east coast, people starting documenting their vibrant, yet unplowed, streets with the hashtag #snopenstreets.

14th St-pocalypse … kinda love it. pic.twitter.com/LTWoSTlvAP — David Garber (@GarberDC) January 24, 2016

Local leaders have been vocal: “Don’t walk in the street”

But city and county officials spent much of the weekend admonishing people for walking in the street, and even threatening to fine people for it.

On Twitter, DC Councilmember Jack Evans told people whose only option was to walk to stay inside if there wasn’t a clear sidewalk.

Screenshot from the author. Original tweet was deleted.

In an exchange with Greater Greater Washington contributor Gray Kimbrough, Montgomery County officials dismissed concerns about a dangerous situation for pedestrians on a busy street by saying people should just stay off the roads.

@GrayNotGary We continue to ask ppl to stay off the roads (foot & car traffic) unless an emergency so @MontCo_Highways can work. — Montgomery County MD (@MontgomeryCoMD) January 25, 2016

In a press conference yesterday, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker asked people to move their vehicles out of the path of plows, but then went on to ask that neighbors avoid walking in the streets:

“There are people walking in the middle of streets,” he said. “It is dangerous. Please, if you don’t have to be outside, do not go outside.”

In a Washington Post article, DC Police Chief Lanier said that police would cite drivers stuck in the road, but that people could also be fined for walking in the street. “We’re going to have to start stepping up and being a little more aggressive about asking our public not to be out, walking in the streets,” Lanier said.

At the same time, clear sidewalks aren’t a priority

While there is a legitimate need to keep roads clear of vehicles and people so that emergency vehicles and snow plows can pass, those who aren’t driving need a way to get around. That’s supposed to be clear sidewalks, but efforts to make that happen have been dismal at best.

In DC, police the mayor decided not to fine residents for failing to shovel their sidewalks, even though a new law permits them to do so.

During the Twitter exchange Kimbrough had with Montgomery County, the Montgomery account said the county had not cleared its own sidewalks because the primary focus is on roads for now.

@GrayNotGary Primary focus is on roads right now (primary & emergency). We will get to neighborhoods & sidewalks. #Snowzilla #blizzard2016 — Montgomery County MD (@MontgomeryCoMD) January 25, 2016

And in many suburban parts of the area, governments don’t clear sidewalks on major roads at all, so the responsibility falls to good neighbors.

Drivers shouldn’t trump pedestrians after a snow emergency

With restaurants and bars offering specials, sledding hills calling out to kids (and kids at heart), and, you know, people needing supplies after being stuck inside for 48 hours, residents are going to leave their homes no matter what, even with most transit options closed.

But sidewalks aren’t cleared, and in many places won’t be cleared for days (until the snow melts). So now, with sidewalks impassible, pedestrians are still walking in the street. But cars aren’t moving at 6 mph, they’re moving at 40 mph. We should make space for our most vulnerable road users first. Otherwise we expose them to unsafe situations.

While the line on Friday and Saturday was generally “stay off the roads,” it has since evolved to “If you get stuck and block snowplows, we’ll fine you.” A message that’s basically “it’s fine to drive now, just stay out of the way of plows” and that does not stress the importance of slowing down and watching for people walking implies that drivers have more right to mobility than pedestrians in a snow emergency. So does telling people not to walk at all.

Just last night, a snow plow struck a man walking on Georgia Avenue in Montgomery Hills. And two years ago, days after a snowstorm, a driver struck and killed a man on the Sousa Bridge. The pedestrian path had not been cleared. In fact, it had been filled with the snow plowed off the vehicular lanes.

Is this what Vision Zero looks like for our region?