Description

I have a part time job downtown on Church St and have found myself all winter scaling the piles of snow and ice around the parking meters to pay, for fear of getting a ticket and losing more money than I made in the shift I was working that day/night. Well, last night while doing just that, I literally slipped on the ice and slid halfway under my truck. My entire side was covered in mud, hands, face, shoes, all covered in mud. Now, this happens. I get it. Ultimately I live in Vermont, choose to leave my house in the winter and therefore know that there are risks. However, as I was driving home last night, it occurred to me that the fact that I have to pay the meters, yet these meters are NOT cleared to a condition that is safe, seems ironic. Why is this the case? Why are these meters not cleared, while we must pay them? I support not clearing them if you want to give us a 2/3 month reprieve on paying... perhaps the lost cost of one outweighs the other. But when we are required to pay, but you are not required to clear... how is that appropriate. I thought I would ask you directly to see if I am missing something. I would appreciate a response, because while I am 43 and (fortunately) sturdy enough to handle this, many other people would have been being picked up by an ambulance after a similar fall. How do we prevent this from happening to others?