Time To Shovel The Damn Sidewalks
Ok people, the weather emergency is over. Time to get back to business. As one of my fellow bloggers said yesterday, you're in Chicago...shut the fuck up about the weather. Well, she said it nicer but not by much.
I live in Lincoln Park. It's trendy and has money. I'm not and don't but a lot of people here do. A big part of of the trendy is a half mile stretch on Clark Street between Fullerton and Diversey.
Bars, restaurants, all kinds of shops. Ok, there's also a McDonald's and a couple of pawn shops but at any given time you can see whatever Generation is now hip walking around, signalling for cabs and that kind of shit!
For the business owners in that strip, I have one question...WHY HAVEN'T YOU SHOVELED THE SIDEWALKS?!
If you're a store owner on that street, you ought to be ashamed. You want people to spend money in your establishment but you obviously don't care about their safety getting in and out of your store.
The snow has been there since last weekend, when we were hit with about a foot of snow. They probably should have done something about it then. I understand why nothing was done on Monday. Yeah, it was -100 degrees. Tuesday was cold, too but not as deadly.
Then there was Wednesday. A normal winter day. Temps in the teens. Chilly but not too bad. Perfect time to get that done. If you don't want to do it yourself, hire someone. Be a good citizen.
These are the two biggest retail names on the street. Notice the difference of the sidewalks. This morning I went to find out why.
I started at Best Buy. I found the manager and asked him why his sidewalk looked like that. He said that none of the Best Buys own the property they're on. He's called his landlord a few times about the sidewalk but nothing has been done.
Next stop is Starbucks. Perfect sidewalk...nice and clean. I asked the manager how that happened. The landlord did it and he didn't have to be asked. As a contrast, there's an Einstein's Bagels directly across the street. Starbuck's competition. Sidewalks are a mess. Where would you want to spend your money?
The temperatures are rising. Suppose to be around 40 on Friday. That mess is going to melt and then freeze. Even more dangerous than now. Is anyone willing to risk a fall to buy something from a store or restaurant that doesn't care about you?
So let's get with it merchants off Lincoln Park. Get your shovels out and start working!
Don't make me write a follow-up next week!!!