Bus stops blocked with snow.

[squonk.livejournal.com]

I've just moved to the Davis Square neighborhood this year. I've seen a lot of discussion about the state of the sidewalks, but particularly upsetting to me is that when the city plows the streets, the snow is piled right in front of the bus stops. I'm blind and have balance issues, so climbing over massive snowpiles is difficult, and waiting in the street is plain unsafe (not that these things aren't difficult and unsafe for everyone!). From whenever there's a storm until the point when the snow melts, I'm essentially blocked from safely accessing the bus--which, I don't know, there must be an ADA violation in there somewhere.

I'm trying to figure out whom to talk to about this. I called the Somerville DPW a couple days ago, and they said they would call the MBTA to put in "an urgent request" to clear my stops on both sides of the street, and that I should give them "a couple of hours" to get it done. I kind of laughed at this, knowing that there was no way anything would happen within a couple hours--and indeed, nothing happened at all. Is this actually a city issue or an MBTA issue? The city is the one creating the barrier, but the MBTA, I would assume, is responsible for maintaining its stops and ensuring access to same.

Right now a lot the snow has melted, but I'd like to try to address this somehow before the next major storm. I've thought of calling the DPW again; my alderman; the MBTA general line; the MBTA disability access coordinator (or whatever their title is). I'd really rather not go around in circles, though, so I'm hoping someone here might have some more concrete ideas about where to direct my energy. (I'm also really hoping not to be told there's nothing that can be done; it doesn't seem possible that living here means that I just won't be able to safely use the bus all winter. Because seriously, I would have to move.)

Thanks so much in advance for your help, and happy holidays to those who celebrate.

Comments

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's annoying. "Starts and Stops" was one of my favorite things. I guess they thought that it was too much overlap with GlobeWatch.