CIRCLE WITH A DOT

@tenzochris Outbloodystanding. This picture and this dogcat, or perhaps catdog, make me so happy.

@aj42 Jeg lyder desværre plausibelt, at det skyldes en budget-strategi. Sneen kommer som en brand new surprise for dem, hvert år.

@theantlady

@jessamyn That's a fine policy and fine strategy.

'cars can make it work with a little bit of snow on the ground' - this is it. The chance of personal injury in a small amount of snow is less for someone sitting inside a car driven carefully than for a person with no metal shield around them trying to balance on slippy patches or clamber through drifts, perhaps with a small child, or a mobility aid, or pushing a pram.

@aj42 Jeg er hvert år overrasket på ny over, at netop fortovene og cykelstierne ikke bliver sneryddet hurtigere og bedre i netop Aarhus. Kommunen har gjort meget for at sikre, at biler ikke dominerer og at byen er nemt tilgængelig på cykel eller til fods. Undtagen når det sner.

@aj42 Ah! It's a great area. Absolutely buzzing these last few years since they developed new sections and particularly Godsbanen.

@jtwcornell91 I and many others walked at the side of the road for stretches yesterday - the paths and bike paths were far too treacherous. Inevitable, as long as you can't take a safe step on the path for ice or wet-soap slush.

We walk on some roads all year round, quite legitimately. We have som mid-city 'shared streets' where cars are allowed, but they are 'guests' and bikes and pedestrians have the right of way. A fine system!

@peterbrown Yes, that's a common problem here too. First day or two: roads cleared. Then they get around to the bike paths. Last, if ever, the footpaths. Which are even more difficult to negotiate after they've cleared the roads and bike paths, with the shovelled-away snow blocking kerb cuts and spraying onto the footpaths themselves.

@cwicseolfor @Enema_Cowboy Good that there was a mayor who rides a bike and that some efforts were made to improve the bike infrastructre.

@savera Two-tier. Snow cleared for motor vehicles. Snow not cleared for cyclists and pedestrians, i.e. everyone else.

@davemq @Enema_Cowboy Am glad to hear that the phenomenon of residential areas being built without paths seems to be dying out. I hope those peculiar paths that just 'stop' get replaced in the future by proper integrated pedestrian infrastructure.

@Enema_Cowboy Oh my. I thought at first that this was a poorly designed path that took a weird winding route with an unseen bit around a bend. Then I read your Alt Text (thanks) and understood it is two unconnected 'paths' that just ... stop. A 'stroad' - what a word, what a concept! Thanks for sharing this.

@RandamuMaki It is. It's a resilient problem. We are lucky that our city is not generally car-centric, with bikes and pedestrians often given right-of-way over cars and with people-centred infrastructure. But for some reason, the exception is during snow. It can takes days before the paths are cleared, even in the busy city centre.

@eivind The 'forever icebergs' — that's a great phrase for them. Takk, den låner jeg. Yes, great point. This a self-defeating problem.

@monstreline Me too. It's a brilliant podcast. Always fascinating stories, so well told.

@holsta Yes! Good point. This bothers me too. It feels so dismissive and rude, even — literally shovelling a problem away from drivers in their metal shields and onto exposed, unprotected cyclists and pedestrians. This photo is from a previous snowfall, but the same problem is everywhere in Aarhus too today. I saw people with mobility aids struggling to clamber over slippery mounds of cleared road snow that block the kerb cuts at pedestrians crossings.

@ownohmanny Ha yes. Nice!

Each time I see cycleways & paths still treacherous hours after the roads have been cleared, I recall this 99% Invisible episode.

"In Sweden, the council reversed its approach and plowed side-roads & paths first. It had a huge impact, reducing number of people admitted to emergency centres, particularly women. It had an economic impact from lower healthcare costs. Driving through a few inches was less dangerous than walking through snow, particularly if pushing a pram."

Invisible Women - 99% Invisible

Snow plowing patterns seem an unlikely subject of a gender study conducted in a small town in Sweden. After all, the town’s approach appeared logical and neutral enough on the surface: plow major roads first, particularly those leading into and out of town, followed by smaller local streets. It is the same sequence played out

99% Invisible (99percentinvisible.org)

Two-tier society