Visually impaired struggle to navigate unplowed sidewalks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Anchorage’s deep snow is making it powerful to get round, not solely on the snowy streets but in addition on the sidewalks — lots of which stay lined. That’s notably true for people who find themselves blind like Zachary James.

On Tuesday, James and his information canine Main Normal had been by accident let loose at a bus cease that was a lot additional than their vacation spot, the Alaska Middle for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Spenard. An Anchorage Every day Information photographer snapped an image of James and Main struggling via deep snow on the unplowed sidewalks alongside West Benson Boulevard.

“It was knee-deep to waist-deep snow the place the sidewalk ought to have been,” James stated. “We simply needed to undergo it. I didn’t know what else to do.”

The picture prompted some considerations from the general public, in line with the middle’s Govt Director, CB Brady.

“The image you noticed of Zachary struggling via that snow was great in a horrible method, as a result of we undergo that every single day, every single day,” Brady stated. “It’s so exhausting to get to a bus cease, and it shouldn’t be.”

Brady stated he understands that roads are a precedence for clearing snow, however he added that sidewalks shouldn’t be forgotten. He thinks the state and town ought to do a greater job of conserving sidewalks clear.

Each town and state say they’re persevering with to plow sidewalks, however roads take precedence.

Division of Transportation and Public Amenities Administrative Operations Supervisor Justin Shelby stated the state has two operators per shift for sidewalk snowblowers, that are at present working within the Boniface and Dimond areas. He stated in some areas of city they nonetheless should haul snow away earlier than sidewalk clearing can start, which may occur as early as this weekend.

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