To the editor:

We SO need to get over that “most people want to do the right thing” fairy tale! My observation is that some people clear their sidewalks every time it snows and some don’t lift a finger (not once!) all winter. I started to simmer about this issue last year when one of your readers (a runner) wrote to complain about the sad state of our snow removal enforcement, and another of your readers (ever so helpful) wrote to suggest she grab a shovel if she wants some exercise.

When I read your online survey results last week that suggest we shouldn’t bother people to clear their sidewalks, I started to wonder: (a) Did only one person answer and he stays inside until spring? or (b) Who the heck are these people?

The city of Lawrence needs to grow up and treat this as the public safety issue it is. If someone is injured/disabled because of a fall on a treacherous sidewalk, who gets sued? The property owner, or the city, or both? I don’t know, but our current head-in-the-sand/snow approach seems pretty negligent to me.

Joy Patton,

Lawrence