Photo by Hans Riemer.

While some people look forward to getting their street plowed after weeks of heavy snowfall, those who walk or use public transit to get around have a whole new problem: snowplows often push the snow into the sidewalk, leaving piles of hardened, icy snow several feet high.

No doubt you’ve seen people walking along the sides of major local roads, like Randolph Road in Montgomery County, Massachusetts Avenue in DC, and Columbia Pike in Arlington, as speeding cars swerve around them.

That’s why we called for volunteers to shovel out sidewalks and bus stops across the region yesterday. The idea expanded upon the group in Tenleytown that Neil Flanagan and ANC 3E Chairman Jon Bender organized last Thursday.

Readers Marc, Paul, and Eric joined Dennis Jaffe and Stephen Miller to work along 16th Street in Columbia Heights. Hans Riemer, Kathy Jentz and Tina Slater attacked bus stops in downtown Silver Spring.

Left: Tina Slater and Kathy Jentz survey a buried bus stop at Fenton and Bonifant streets. Right: Hans Riemer clears a bus stop at Fenton Street and Thayer Avenue. Photos by Hans Riemer.

Others picked icy but high-traffic patches of sidewalk, like commenters mogwit and rallycap, who tackled the M Street bridge between Foggy Bottom and Georgetown, and David Alpert and reader Rob along Q Street across the Connecticut Avenue underpass.

The call inspired many to shovel out individual bus stops near their homes. Lance Brown worked on his stop at Benning Road and 16th Street NE, and RAC member Penny Everline and her husband shoveled in Clarendon. Even Washington Post technology columnist Rob Pegoraro wrote that he shoveled out his local stop.

Left: David Alpert and Rob break up thick ice on the Connecticut Avenue overpass. Right: The Tenleytown group tackles a corner on Wisconsin Avenue. Photos by Neil Flanagan.

Over a dozen neighbors from all over Tenleytown worked together to open up paths and make walking safe and easy again, including Ben Nieva, Mike Sires, Steve Kelley, Athan Manuel, Angie Das, Hedda Garland, Felix Garland, Jenny McCarthy and Chris Frantz, as well as some whose names Neil might not have recorded.

That group focused on the street corners, which had become less passable with every visit by the plows. The delay of one day had allowed most owners and businesses to clear their sidewalks, but the hardening slush in the streets was still tripping people up. They even put down some salt and sand provided by the local Ace hardware store. The Current sent out a reporter, who also recorded an audio segment for WAMU.

Unfortunately, snow on many busy sidewalks had already condensed into packs of ice, preventing the group from clearing more. David and Rob were only able to clear about 60% of the sidewalk across Connecticut Avenue after two hours.

Many businesses and organizations also deserve attention for their lack of effort. In Tenleytown, Neisha Thai and several other establishments south of the Metro stood out. Circle Management left their construction site next to the Metro uncleared, while they or their tenants fulfilled the responsibility on the rest of their properties.

The Georgetown Day School shoveled its 42nd Street Sidewalks well enough, but its long stretch of sidewalk on River Road was left completely untouched. Finally, the National Park Service proved the worst offender, shoveling none of their many properties around Tenleytown. There are similar stories in neighborhoods all around the region.

But while other people let down their neighbors, it was reassuring to see so many people out on a snow day, helping each other out. Everyone came away knowing the others a little better as well.

Dan Reed (they/them) is Greater Greater Washington’s regional policy director, focused on housing and land use policy in Maryland and Northern Virginia. For a decade prior, Dan was a transportation planner working with communities all over North America to make their streets safer, enjoyable, and equitable. Their writing has appeared in publications including Washingtonian, CityLab, and Shelterforce, as well as Just Up The Pike, a neighborhood blog founded in 2006. Dan lives in Silver Spring with Drizzy, the goodest boy ever.

Stephen Miller is a former Greater Greater Washington contributor and DC resident. He now works for Transit in Montreal.

Neil Flanagan grew up in Ward 3 before graduating from the Yale School of Architecture. He is pursuing an architecture license. He really likes walking around and looking at stuff.