Shovel as I say, not as I do

Like many other cities, Cambridge insists that residents shovel the public sidewalks in front of their dwellings or businesses within 12 hours after snow stops falling. It's a reasonable requirement, and keeps pedestrians off dangerously slippery roads.

Of course, it would be nice if Cambridge took responsibility for clearing pedestrian walkways that aren't in front of dwellings or businesses. This morning there was not a single route from the north side to the south side of Memorial Drive near the Longfellow Bridge that didn't involve trudging through 3-4 feet drifts. The newly paved sidewalk down the embankment to the pedestrian underpass was completely snowed under. As a result, pedestrians had to either go a quarter mile out of their way to Kendall Square, or share snow and ice covered roads with Memorial Drive's busy commuter traffic.