Uncleared sidewalks in Westbard area of Bethesda

Several corners and crosswalks remained blocked by mounds of snow on Ridgefield Road and Westbard Avenue. They include the west side corners at Ridgefield and River Road and Ridgefield and Westbard, both in front of the vacant Manor Care nursing home.

The former spot is pictured above. Along the grass to the left of the curb cut and snow pile, where you might think able-bodied people could at least walk around it, is actually a deep gash in the lawn that makes it unsafe to traverse. It might have been created by truck trying to make the difficult turn there (but don't tell Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson that, he says it's no big deal). Of course, if you're in a wheelchair, you can't access this sidewalk at all from the crosswalk.

The sidewalk along Ridgefield on the Westwood Center II side is fully cleared between River and Westbard.

An entire stretch of sidewalk along Westbard remains uncleared between Ridgefield and the Westwood Shopping Center property. On the other side of the driveway entrance into the shopping center (below the staircase that leads down to Westbard Avenue), another large mound blocks full access to the otherwise-cleared sidewalk behind the shopping center.

Snow stopped falling around 8:00 PM on January 23 - two weeks before this photo was taken. Once again, Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer's vaunted sidewalk shoveling law has failed.