(S)No(w) pedestrians!

Participaction would be appalled.  It's pretty much impossible to get exercise walking around Port Alberni, what with the broken sidewalks and the lack of street lights.  But, when it snows, it definitely *is* impossible.

Some people shovel the sidewalks in front of, or beside, their houses.  *Some* people.  But, of course, one person leaving trampled, frozen, icy remains on their sidewalk means that the entire block is pretty much impassable, since it's pretty much impossible to get from the sidewalk onto the road over the piles of frozen snow.

(Why does Gboard always, only think that "frozen" is the movie [and therefore capitalized], and not just an adjective?)

The city makes no provision to clear sidewalks, even in areas where there are no residences along the roads.  This city makes no provision to clear intersections, wheelchair ramps, or any other access between the sidewalks and the roads.  The city apparently has no bylaw provision for encouraging people to clear the snow from sidewalks and front of or beside their houses.

And, of course, the motorists make pretty much zero provision for the fact that anybody who is walking, for whatever reason, has to do it on the roads, and not the sidewalks.  Drivers who can easily see you, from at least three blocks away, waiting until they're within about twenty feet to suddenly swerve, making a big point that you shouldn't be on the road.  You should be on the sidewalk, which is, of course, piled two feet deep in huge lumps of ice, which have been thrown onto the sidewalk from the snow plows clearing the roads.

And, of course, it has taken me far too long to get here.  So now I'm late, and it will also take me far too long to get over to the Athletic Hall, so I'm not sure that I'm going to make it to Tai Chi today . . .