Who uses sidewalks?
We first think of walkers when we think of sidewalks, and typically able-bodied walkers at that. We might think of people of different ages, and with different goals to their activities -- some are on an errand and in a hurry, and some are just out for an aimless stroll or wandering with small children. Thinking of being at different paces makes me think also of runners, who frequently use sidewalks, too, and when they're crowded, runners wind up running into frustration, weaving amongst slower users.
Among less able-bodied people, we might see people with canes, crutches, walkers -- moving very slowly -- and people in wheelchairs and scooters -- moving quickly!
Speaking of wheels, I also see kids on kick scooters and the occasional person on inline skates. Probably my least favorite wheel-based travelers on sidewalks are people on bikes, who I always imagine must be equally annoyed by the pedestrians they encounter.
Are the sidewalks in your neighborhoods well designed for all the people who use them?
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In my neighborhood, there are areas where the sidewalks are paved with bricks or paving stones. I sometimes stumble on these even now; when I was using crutches, they were pretty tricky to navigate. They're also a little difficult for another kind of wheeled traveler you didn't mention: strollers!
what are the rules for how wide a path people are supposed to clear on the sidewalks when shoveling snow? I rarely see people clear enough width for a wheelchair in my area (plus they seldom clear a path all the way down to the corner). I always feel grateful to be able to just walk over walls of snow and to squeeze through narrow paths during the winter.
Laurenhat: The rule of thumb is 36" is the minimum width that should be cleared in order to allow wheelchairs and strollers to navigate sidewalks. The official rule depends on your municipality; some cities and towns in Massachusetts have no snow clearing rules at all!
You're right, also, that clearing all the way to the corner is frequently overlooked.
If you have a few minutes, check out this snow clearance PSA discussing disabled folks' navigation of snowy sidewalks in Cambridge, MA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3EBUKS_RxI
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