Signs point to “no”
The upper area of Riverfront Plaza has been cleared and sanded, but the snow has been moved in a way that would discourage most people from approaching the stairs.
What do you think: should parks be expected to be accessible year-round?
Christopher Brown
Yes. Parks serve as thoroughfares for many, they should be cleared as should sidewalks, streets, stairs, and curb cuts.
I think they want to make it difficult for people to witness them dumping snow in the river.
Josh LaPorte
The people in power seem to think of the parks as “amenities” rather than public right-of-ways. The inclination seems to be to cut access to parks with no consideration to pedestrians or cyclists who use these pathways to get from place to place. The interruption of access to the entire Northern boundary of Bushnell park for many months is one example, which has caused me and many others a great deal of inconvenience.
I must commend the city, though, for doing a reasonably good job of keeping many sidewalks of the parks I walk through cleared of snow this winter. I walk through two parks on a daily basis and have not had to detour for more than a day after each snow storm.
Kerri Provost
The Bushnell Park snow clearing has improved like 1000% over previous years. They finally did the part near the Less Big Dig too.
Kristin Yates
I slogged though the Plaza last weekend, and was astonished to find the river quite frozen (a sight I have never seen before). Those with less time or willpower would never be able to get that far given the lack of accessibility.
Meanwhile–to echo Josh LaPorte–I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find Bushnell Park pretty well cleared.