Advocates of the Plow the Sidewalks program were asking for $1 million to start a pilot program in four areas of the city.
The Chicago City Council passed a budget that includes funding for a ‘Plow the Sidewalks’ pilot project, reports Quinn Myers in Block Club Chicago.
The $500,000 allocated to the project is roughly half of what advocates were asking for. Alderperson Daniel La Spata, who has been a strong supporter of the program, said the pilot will launch in December 2025 “and that the city will seek grants and philanthropic funding to supplement the $500,000.”
Earlier this month, disability rights advocates decried the mayor’s decision to omit the program from the proposed 2025 budget altogether. A May working group report recommended four test zones for the sidewalk-clearing program, which supporters say is essential to the mobility of residents with disabilities, people pushing strollers, and all pedestrians.
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Ada County Highway District
Charles County Government
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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