As winter settles over northeast Ohio, Lakewood’s free salt program is back, helping residents keep sidewalks safe and streets walkable. Will you utilize the city’s resources and ensure clear and safe walkways for you and your neighbors?
This is the third year that the city has been providing this service. Community members can take up to 5 gallons of salt to keep their sidewalks and driveways safe. Keeping pavements clear is especially important in Lakewood, a walking town.
Lakewood City Council Ward 4 representative Cindy Marx is very knowledgeable about the program and understands the significance of accessibility.
“Lakewood prides itself on being a walkable community,” Marx said. “Keeping sidewalks clear of snow during winter months helps to ensure safe walking paths for all.”
Lakewood always has the goal of making winters safe during the frigid months. Citizens around town trek from building to building and event to event. College student and Lakewood resident Sophia Kowalski frequently walks to and from bus stops to get to Cuyahoga Community College’s campus.
“Despite the cold, I will often find myself still walking outside in the winter when it comes to things like getting to school or work,” Kowalski said. An employee at local restaurant Forage, she also commutes to work on foot. “I take the bus to school so walking is a necessity at times to get to the bus stop, no matter how bad the weather is. Work-wise I don’t live very far so walking isn’t too difficult even in the winter.”
Guaranteeing safe sidewalks is a community effort that can benefit the entire city. With its beautiful scenery, it is difficult to live in Lakewood without walking around—at least every now and then. Some residents live on busy streets such as Clifton, Bunts, and Madison, and they see more and more examples every day of why clear pathways are essential to the community.
“I see many children, elderly and wheelchair [users] in the streets going to school, church, doctor’s appointments, and the grocery stores,” resident Mary Burton said. “Lakewood prides itself as a walking city but during snowstorms, the sidewalks become a big problem and are always cleared last.”
While walkability is one of Lakewoods defining features, winter snowfall creates challenges for those who rely on walking as their primary means of transportation. Snow and ice can turn a trip to the grocery store into a dangerous endeavor. Conditions such as these may put people, especially elderly or disabled people, at risk.
“The biggest obstacle when it comes to walking in the winter would be unclear sidewalks,” Kowalski said. “If it’s super cold I can always just bundle up and be fine, but if sidewalks are slippery cause of snow or ice it can make walking in the winter dangerous.” Rock salt and shoveling are great resources for keeping the city safe.
Snow can also significantly impact parking lots and businesses in the area. The residential salt program reinforces the pressure of keeping these essential locations clear, allowing businesses to be fully operational despite the cold weather. Free salt is just part of the broader goals to promote community safety and accessibility during winter.
“The city has an ordinance that requires residents to keep sidewalks cleared of snow to accommodate all walkers, especially the children who walk to school,” Marx said. Ordinances and plans help to achieve a risk-free winter for all.
There has been a wide range of feedback from the salt bins. In some instances, residents see the vision of rock salt but think there could be more of an effort to fix the weather immediately. Nevertheless, the support for the bin’s existence remains ongoing, with many appreciating the convenience of the project.
“The salt bins have been very well received by our residents, Marx said. “I, myself, have filled a bucket with the salt.” The project has made an impact in just the last two years of its existence. Council member Cindy A. Marx has seen a great deal of encouragement for the program, and she “fully [supports] the city continuing to supply salt to the community.”
“Having free salt bins available is a much easier solution for the average person to assist in keeping sidewalks clear,” Kowalski said. “Making salt easier to obtain would encourage more people to use it and help keep sidewalks safer.”
Free rock salt may be found at Madison Park North Parking Lot, Lakewood Park Skate House, Cove Park, Kauffman Park, and Lakewood Dog Park. A set of instructions is posted near the salt as well, these signs make retrieving salt straightforward for locals.
As winter conditions make transportation increasingly difficult, programs like the free residential salt bins can be crucial to our own safety and that of our neighbors. Whether it’s assuring safe pavements or supporting local businesses, the salty program gets all citizens to play a part in clearing the dangerous ice and snow. Will you utilize these chillingly excellent resources?
