Press Herald article on snowy sidewalks

[John Clark]

Ditch those Bean Boots — and 6 more tips for walking in winter | Column  (unfortunately, I can't seem to get a gift link for this one)

Thought it was interesting that they had a map of the properties that have been charged for sidewalk snow violations so far this winter, to go along with their 4th recommendation of "tell on your neighbors"

"Sidewalks that haven’t been shoveled are less predictable hazards, but there is something you can do about them — complain. As of Jan. 20, the city of Portland had received around 300 reports of properties violating its requirement to clear sidewalks within 12 hours of the end of a storm for businesses or 18 hours for residences. By the end of that month, 38 property owners were billed for snow removal at a cost of $175 an hour. According to the addresses on an invoice from the contractor, there are clusters of these scofflaws near Carleton Street on the West End, Boynton Street in Parkside and Riverside Street (or maybe that’s just where the tattletales are)."

Also, the danger of brick sidewalks and their incompatibilty with safely walking in the winter got a shoutout.

--

John Clark (he | him | his)

[Emilie Swenson]

I continue to be dumbfounded that we live in a snowy winter environment where every single winter we have to have the same conversation about snow removal.

Traveling from Morrill's Corner area down Forest there are too many violations to even begin to report/see-click-fix. Clearing is great, but if the clearing isn't wide enough to push a stroller or wheel a chair through, does it even count as clearing? Or if you clear 85% of the path, does that even count? What is someone supposed to do when they hit a roadblock midblock with two feet of snow on either side. Or the sidewalk is mostly clear, but when you want to cross the street and you can't pass through because the snow/ice is too packed in to maneuver?

I will say that one positive I have seen this winter is when the little plows have done the entire sidewalk on Forest/Allen. (Though sometimes the street plows then mess up any progress made by the little sidewalk plows...which may be what I am seeing as I commuted today.)

This one got me good today because I happened to use it (crosswalk by Mr Bagel). I did submit a see click fix on this one…

 

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[Joey Brunelle]

Re: bricks, D2 Councilor Wes Pelletier made the point in a meeting a couple months ago that brick sidewalks weren't the best, and they were also expensive, so maybe we should reconsider and use different materials. There's also a pretty big line item for sidewalk refurbishment in the Capital Improvement Plan budget that the City Council Finance Committee talked about last night - I couldn't watch their convo, but they'll be talking public comment at their meeting next week and it would be great if members of the public could speak up and talk about this. 

Re: dumbfounded, my god me too. I live in the West End and I take the bus/train down to Boston pretty regularly, and walking there is always an adventure because the crosswalks around St. John and elsewhere are just snowbanks. Then when it melts those snowbanks become swales that trap water into a large pond, then when it gets cold those ponds freeze and become skating rinks. I feel like the standard we apply to snow plowing should be: "could a human being with a cane or wheelchair navigate this path from origin to destination?" We are sooooo far away from meeting that standard right now, but maybe it could be dramatically improved by having the department think about their work differently.

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[Winston Lumpkins]

Sidewalk policy map:
https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/c79b781d-58a8-4531-b46e-37afc9d95ada?cache=1800

It’s listed as an appendix of the technical manual, but may be set by the city council, as some city staff have said it is. I am 99% sure this is just up to the planning board, just like the rest of the street design standards in Portland.  But, thinking you know how Portland’s city code works, for even 1 second, is a mistake.  It’s seriously a horrible mess.  

No agenda yet, but I think that finance committee meeting can be found here sometime next week: https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/8522/files

Here's another press herald article, this one from 2025 which talks about how bad the brick sidewalks are, and includes figures for how much more expensive they were in 2015.  
 
https://www.pressherald.com/2015/11/22/legwork-portlands-historic-brick-sidewalks-may-be-charming-but-they-are-not-safe/

The S&T committee had sidewalk materials on the first draft of their work plan, but not on the current draft.  Though who knows I guess it could be part of a vision zero ordinance?  

~Winston

Winston Lumpkins IV (he/him/his)

Past Chair, Portland Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee
https://www.portlandbikeped.org/

winston....@gmail.com
207-408-1508

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[Rauschpfeife]

Odd man out, as often happens: I love the brick sidewalks and would hate to see them go. Maybe cement is prosaically a bit better, by some drab Benthamite metric, but don't we need a little poetry too? Horror of horrors, I feel a letter-to-the-editor coming on. 

In my immediate nabe, those adorable little mignon sidewalk snow-blowers seem to do fine with the brick pavement. 

-- 

Best, 

Michael Smith

anacharsis.substack.com

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 10:13 AM Joey Brunelle <joey.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Emma Holder]

The brick sidewalks are indeed beautiful and historical, and are fine for able-bodied people. 

I realized how much of a problem they posed when I was pushing my friend in a wheelchair, and even in the summer, it was a bumpy trial. They are pretty much impassable in winter if you’re on wheels or have compromised mobility.

I sadly realized that though I love the brick sidewalks, they are not helpful for anyone with less than good balance, foot lift, and vision.

Phooey. Very conflicted.

Emma

Emma Holder

LMT MSc CMLDT

Humankind, let's be both

207 415 7204

em...@emmaholder.com

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On Feb 27, 2026, at 20:13, Rauschpfeife <rausch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Odd man out, as often happens: I love the brick sidewalks and would hate to see them go. Maybe cement is prosaically a bit better, by some drab Benthamite metric, but don't we need a little poetry too? Horror of horrors, I feel a letter-to-the-editor coming on. 

In my immediate nabe, those adorable little mignon sidewalk snow-blowers seem to do fine with the brick pavement. 

-- 

Best, 

Michael Smith

anacharsis.substack.com

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 10:13 AM Joey Brunelle <joey.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

Re: bricks, D2 Councilor Wes Pelletier made the point in a meeting a couple months ago that brick sidewalks weren't the best, and they were also expensive, so maybe we should reconsider and use different materials. There's also a pretty big line item for sidewalk refurbishment in the Capital Improvement Plan budget that the City Council Finance Committee talked about last night - I couldn't watch their convo, but they'll be talking public comment at their meeting next week and it would be great if members of the public could speak up and talk about this. 

Re: dumbfounded, my god me too. I live in the West End and I take the bus/train down to Boston pretty regularly, and walking there is always an adventure because the crosswalks around St. John and elsewhere are just snowbanks. Then when it melts those snowbanks become swales that trap water into a large pond, then when it gets cold those ponds freeze and become skating rinks. I feel like the standard we apply to snow plowing should be: "could a human being with a cane or wheelchair navigate this path from origin to destination?" We are sooooo far away from meeting that standard right now, but maybe it could be dramatically improved by having the department think about their work differently.

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 8:43 AM Emilie Swenson <emilie....@gmail.com> wrote:

I continue to be dumbfounded that we live in a snowy winter environment where every single winter we have to have the same conversation about snow removal.

Traveling from Morrill's Corner area down Forest there are too many violations to even begin to report/see-click-fix. Clearing is great, but if the clearing isn't wide enough to push a stroller or wheel a chair through, does it even count as clearing? Or if you clear 85% of the path, does that even count? What is someone supposed to do when they hit a roadblock midblock with two feet of snow on either side. Or the sidewalk is mostly clear, but when you want to cross the street and you can't pass through because the snow/ice is too packed in to maneuver?

I will say that one positive I have seen this winter is when the little plows have done the entire sidewalk on Forest/Allen. (Though sometimes the street plows then mess up any progress made by the little sidewalk plows...which may be what I am seeing as I commuted today.)

This one got me good today because I happened to use it (crosswalk by Mr Bagel). I did submit a see click fix on this one…

<IMG_4864.jpeg>

 

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 8:30 AM John Clark <jmcla...@gmail.com> wrote:

Ditch those Bean Boots — and 6 more tips for walking in winter | Column  (unfortunately, I can't seem to get a gift link for this one)

Thought it was interesting that they had a map of the properties that have been charged for sidewalk snow violations so far this winter, to go along with their 4th recommendation of "tell on your neighbors"

"Sidewalks that haven’t been shoveled are less predictable hazards, but there is something you can do about them — complain. As of Jan. 20, the city of Portland had received around 300 reports of properties violating its requirement to clear sidewalks within 12 hours of the end of a storm for businesses or 18 hours for residences. By the end of that month, 38 property owners were billed for snow removal at a cost of $175 an hour. According to the addresses on an invoice from the contractor, there are clusters of these scofflaws near Carleton Street on the West End, Boynton Street in Parkside and Riverside Street (or maybe that’s just where the tattletales are)."

Also, the danger of brick sidewalks and their incompatibilty with safely walking in the winter got a shoutout.

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John Clark (he | him | his)

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[Rauschpfeife]

I tend to see it in the category of historic preservation. Making old buildings accessible is quite a project too -- especially if you want to keep their character & charm. I know; I've been embroiled in a couple of these undertakings. 

I expect that a good many Portlanders like the brick sidewalks, as I do, so this might not be quite the right hill for us to die on. In any case, they're a nit, compared to the enormous uphill Sisyphean struggle we face just to keep people from getting killed. I can't remember the last time a brick sidewalk killed somebody. Though I'm sure it must have happened. But probably a cyclist has killed somebody even more recently. 

  

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Best, 

Michael Smith

anacharsis.substack.com

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[Zack Barowitz]

Cement and asphalt have their downsides as well. I think the best material is granite blocks. There are not many examples locally but there are a few in front of city hall. 

Zack

207-838-6120

917-696-5649
ZacharyBarowitz.com

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[Rauschpfeife]

Back in my nabe in Chicago, there were a few slate (or shale? No, I think slate) sidewalks. Big pieces of it, like 3x4 foot. Probably impossible to duplicate today. They got upheaved a bit by tree-roots and frost (of course: Chicago) but never got as roller-coastery as P'land's brick. They were *gorgeous*. Amenity counts for something too, or so I'd like to think. 

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Michael Smith

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[al...@citymouse.us]

I like brick sidewalks. Tho they can be slippery in rain, or uneven, that is often because the bricks were laid 150+ years ago. I'm not sure of what other surface could go that long with (probably) no maintenance and not need some work.

Concrete is flat, as long as there are no trees or large amounts of water to upheave it. Tho it can be a little monotonous-looking in large expanses. And (for me, maybe others) the sun shining on it can be blinding. And, if it's not poured flat, it can be hard to distinguish any variance in planes between one square and the next.

One potential solution to this is Exposed Aggregate concrete. The attached pic shows this in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I think. It's laid the same as concrete, but it's then rinsed with water or brushed to expose the underlying aggregate. You can see some examples of this around Portland, except with our native bluerock. Bluerock also cleaves in flat planes, so it would lay flat on the surface. I think it's handsome paving, and could match the aesthetics of brick and the practicality of regular boring concrete. (For anyone who's been down cellar in most any older Portland house, the walls were made of bluerock.) 

Alex

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