What is downtown Seattle like when it's icy? (Spokane: landlords, living in)

[SquirtingBarnacle]

I know there are a lot of hills in downtown Seattle. How well are they taken care of when it gets icy out? Do they ever get so icy you just can't walk down them? I'm living in downtown Spokane now and most people don't bother taking care of the sidewalks when it's icy. This happens even outside some concentrated business sections of the city. Second biggest city in Washington doesn't know how to shovel sidewalks or if they do shovel they rarely throw down salt. How does the biggest city in Washington deal?

I'm curious to know because I might be moving to Seattle next year for work and I walk everywhere. Not interested in the roads, just sidewalks

[Botev1912]

It's icy 5-10 days a year, some years less than that.

[Garethe]

Not pleasant in a vehicle or on foot. The steeper streets like James and Madison are often barricaded.

[Hemlock140]

I walk a mile every day from the bus tunnel to the office, and have for over 2 years now. Other than one day this winter with some slushy snow, I have never had any icy sidewalks to deal with. here where I live, we have probably had 20 days with freezing fog on the roads but Seattle stays warmer due to the water being so close.

[Ira500]

They're pretty good at getting rid of ice from downtown Seattle, but have at times closed some of the more trecherous streets. It's some of the residential streets that don't get cleared, so it might be fine downtown, but you might need to walk to work.

[homesinseattle]

Not bad, if you are from Alaska. Horrid, if you are from Miami.

[Botev1912]

Not bad if you are from the Northeast, Midwest, Alaska. Horrid if you are from Florida, California, Hawaii.

[chrisb19]

Problem solved Just keep a pair of cramp on's handy.




But in all seriousness, I don't think icy travel around Seattle is something to overly concern yourself with.

[sofewnamestocho]

I'm a native New Yorker who live in Seattle for three years.

It doesn't snow much in Seattle, that is true. It doesn't freeze that much either (but watch out, unlike NYC where we get those really cold and dry streaks, when it freezes in Seattle there is frequently rain on the ground.) However, god forbid it snows. Two inches paralyzes the city, and makes driving incredibly dangerous. They don't plow, when I lived there they refused to use salt, citing environmental reasons (they use it now, they had a "blizzard" of about five inches which shut the city down for a week, prompting the change,) and nobody can drive in it. Pair that with the hills, and it is actually frightening. In NYC, businesses and homeowners/landlords are responsible to clear their section of sidewalk, or they face liability if someone slips and falls, with New Yorkers being sue happy, it is a serious concern. Not the case in Seattle. The sidewalks, even downtown, are treacherous and you risk slipping, sure, but also with all the bad drivers, getting hit, even on the sidewalk, is a concern.

In short, it is true it rarely snows/freezes. But when it does, get ready.

[sofewnamestocho]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

Not bad if you are from the Northeast, Midwest, Alaska. Horrid if you are from Florida, California, Hawaii.

NOT TRUE!!!!

In NYC, two inches of snow is nothing. In Seattle, it makes the city frightening.