Snowy Sidewalks

Alan Cole has a blog-length tweet about city sidewalks several days after DC’s snowstorm:

This state of affairs is common in DC. Specifically, the sidewalks. The one on the left is covered with snow and ice, while the one on the right is clear.

This is because the sidewalk on the left is next to a public park, while the one on the right is next to private homes.… pic.twitter.com/b73o2eNaHT

— Alan Cole (@AlanMCole) January 9, 2025

I suspect something similar happens in conservative towns, but Cole points out the dissonance of the local reaction:

Most curiously of all, the residents all seem fine with this. If you asked them, they might act like it’s mean to even suggest that the government should get someone to clear the sidewalk…

I can’t help but feel like these do-gooders are almost too morally pure and simple to avoid being taken advantage of. They happily support their government, even when it has an ongoing bribery scandal, even when it fails to provide basic services.

I live here, I like the people, but their values are ultimately kind of alien to me.

In a mixed renter-owner neighborhood in Rochester, New York, this Christmas, I noticed a curiosity of the commons: While all the gridded, well-trodden streets were unshoveled, a lone cul-de-sac’s sidewalks was beautifully, neatly shoveled and salted. It seemed to be the work of one older man (who presumably shares my love of shoveling).