Architectural & Interior Design Photography, Corporate Commercial Photography, Advertising & Portrait Photographer | Ottawa | 613-558-7585 | justin.vanleeuwen@gmail.com
Is it societal, as in “North American” to treat the roads better than we do the sidewalks? We plow them regularly, keep them salted, clean, safe. By doing so we are placing our priority on the automobiles that drive on the roadways, while burdening the people on their pathetic pedestrian walks.
I know people who are more concerned with getting their car gas than they are eating a good, healthy, lunch. They spend more time taking the car to get tuned up, and having regular maintenance, than going to the gym or going to any sort of doctor for their own regular check-up. When was the last time you had your oil changed?
I was walking on an overpass a few nights ago, and the snow, from the road, had been plowed so covering, completely, over the sidewalk, that it actually banked up to about half a foot from the rail. Staying off the busy road, I realized I was 1/2 a foot from slipping 40 feet onto one of the world’s busiest highways… and there was a mother and her kids on this too – but we decided the people driving fast in their cars still had priority.
where's her head? looks like a hat on shoulders
i like the yellow bump signs. and the thoughts.
I think the issue isn't what mode of transportation people prefer, but rather which has more potential for danger. If you dont plow the road, cars will be crashing into people, buildings, etc. If you dont shovel the sidewalk, people get knee high in snow and maybe fall down.
roads have higher volume and greater risk of injury if not cleaned so obviously they should be granted priority.
to equate buying gasoline to healthy eating is a giant leap of logic. i get my oil changed 3 times a year which amounts to about an hour of waiting. i'm pretty sure that most people spend more than an hour each year on physical activity whether it's at a gym or not.
there's plenty of things that one could criticize our society for, but snow banks isn't one of them. try again.
your social commentary is as thoughtful as andy rooney's.
Brad and Schmee are totally right – I get it – I just don't like it. Being a non-driver you just get pissed at the little things, like the cars cutting you off when you have right of way, just because they're frazzled by the snow – what about me? I'm actually outside IN it – not separated by glass so don't bump your car into my ass.
My social commentary isn't even remotely guised as a personal issue – I just try to not start all my posts with "you know what pisses me off" but I suppose I am anyways.
p.s. how'd you know I've been watching 60 minutes?
So stop complaining and drive to work… or take a bus.
I do take a bus – the complaint is everything in-between; catering to the "man" and his automobile. What really impresses me are the people who still manage to ride their bikes in this weather.
government leaders: the man
corporate leaders: the man
drivers: not the man
jvl: not a man
Government – Roads
Corporate – Cars
Drivers – slave to both
JVL – not
Anyways, my original question was if other places are the same, Russia, Norway, Sweeden, Mexico…
wow. you're all morons. most drivers are lazy drones – fact. walk around in this weather for a bit and stop getting offended. side walks are important. for businesses and transportation for the able-bodied and not. how is it that we live in canada and we don't cater to pedestrians? it's fucked up. recognize that there's a bigger picture outside of your ego and stop getting offended. jvl i'm with you on this one.
"there's plenty of things that one could criticize our society for, but snow banks isn't one of them. try again." – really 'shmeee'? you don't think how our municipal govn't allocates money is important? you don't think that dumping 100 tonnes of salt on our roads is important? you don't think that it's fucked up that we live in canada and life stops when the side walks are packed with snow?
it's fucking messed up. snow banks piss me off. and no, i'm sure that other countries take way better care of their pedestrians than us.
back off with your disses.
The main argument that cars on an unplowed/unsalted road is a good idea? If your argument against that is that people shouldnt be driving than you're clearly delusional. You can't everyone to walk to and from work, the store, etc all of the time.. what if I live 10km from my job? 20km?
then boo hoo. cry, i hear it helps.
I guess you told me.
I know I'm commenting on all your old posts here, but you managed to find what was once one of the worst intersections in the city. The house on the right (which used to have a green siding) was struck so many times by the collision of cars crossing on MacLaren getting hit by cars booming down Lyon (the street you're on) that the owners could no longer get insurance. The City finally put the speed hump down, and problem solved. This was pretty much the first speed hump in Centretown (which is now full of them).
As for plowing, the plows do plow the sidewalk (and they tend to do incrementally better each year), but it looks like the roads are clearer because the car tires break down the snow further, in a manner (and volume) that footsteps and bikes can't. If no cars had gone by, the road would look a lot like the sidewalk on the left.