Bedford Park Sidewalk, Bus Stop Covered In Snow; City Says It's Not Responsible
BEDFORD PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- Imagine trudging through a foot of snow just to get to your bus stop. All day Monday CBS 2 pushed for answers about why a snowy Bedford Park sidewalk had not been cleared. The snow was so deep some passengers were walking in the street.
The sidewalk has about a foot of snow at least all the way from 67th Street to 71st on South Cicero. The people that have to navigate it like this everyday say it's downright dangerous.
"I've had to risk my life, and I got to look behind me, watch out where I'm going because I don't want to get hit by a car," said Kevin Raygoza.
He walks to work each day in Bedford Park. After the recent snowfall, he said using the sidewalk on South Cicero Avenue is impossible.
"If the snow was shoveled, I wouldn't have to risk my life or put my life in danger," he said.
Not only are the sidewalks not cleared from 67th to 71st Street on South Cicero Avenue, but also the bus shelters are filled with snow. A shopping cart in one of them appears to be a spot to sit and wait for the bus.
"They've got to shovel the snow out the bus stop, too, so people can get safely on the bus and get off the bus and get to where they're going," Raygoza said.
CBS 2 reached out to the Illinois Department of Transportation to see who is responsible for clearing the sidewalks here on South Cicero. They said while they are responsible for snow removal on state roads, municipalities have jurisdiction over snow removal on municipal sidewalks.
Bedford Park Public Works Foreman Alan Lemick, who has been with the department for 23 years, said these sidewalks are not the village's responsibility.
Lemick said in the community residents are responsible for clearing the sidewalks in front of their homes.
"I saw that it was melting, and I wanted to finish it up and get rid of the rest of the snow so it's not icy," said resident Paulette Bennett.
The public works department clears the streets.
"We started on Saturday, and we didn't go home until last night until we were all done," said Lemick.
He said it took 10 workers 30 hours to clear nearly 11 inches of snow from the roads, but snowy sidewalks remain for Raygoza.
"Nobody has shoveled the snow," he said.
For Raygoza the sidewalks can't be cleared soon enough.
CBS 2 reached out to Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation to see if they are responsible for clearing the sidewalk but had not heard back by 5 p.m. Monday.
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