AURORA - Snow drifts have been a real problem for the people who use the bus system. If you've been driving around the metro area, you may have noticed giant snow drifts covering some RTD bus stops. Snow also covers the sidewalks around some of the stops, making them impassible.
VIEW SLIDESHOW OF SNOWED-IN BUS STOPS
"They haven't cleaned any of the sidewalks," bus rider Linda Vazquez said. "You can't get to the bus stops. You have to walk up snow that's past your legs. There is ice all over the place. You got to try not to fall - ski through everything."
Vazquez got off the bus on Chambers Road near Smith Road in Aurora Monday morning.
"Somebody can fall and hurt themselves," Vazquez said. "If you're an elderly woman trying to get to her everyday thing, you can't get through this. If you're in a wheelchair, you're not going to be able to get through it. If you have children, and you have to bring them through here, you can slip and fall or they can get hurt. It's dangerous. It's a hazard."
The bus stop where Vazquez got off has a metal pole marking it and a bench. The reason that's important to point out is RTD says it's not responsible for clearing those stops.
"It's a priority situation when you have as much snow. We have record February snowfall, people trying to catch up with that, crews trying to catch up with that," RTD spokesperson Scott Reed said. "The priority is first for the shelters that RTD owns and then the Transit Centers, Park and Rides, and our light rail stations, and then everything kind of cascades from there."
The bus stops with poles on the sidewalks are a responsibility of a business or a homeowner nearby, Reed said. Some are also the responsibility of municipalities.
"It's a little bit complicated, but we try to work with people also, especially if we have disabled persons," Reed said.
RTD has 10,000 bus stops in the metro area and it relies on everyone to do their part.
The City of Aurora told 9NEWS teams from several departments have been "working around the clock" to make sure streets were accessible and safe. Because of the amount of snow, the city said that could take some time.
Monday, the city told 9NEWS, the crews were working to clear snow from streets and schools, including sidewalks on the south side, shady areas of east and west streets.
The city says the bus benches are owned by the bus bench company and it was the company's responsibility to clear the snow.
"They're attempting to remove the snow ASAP," the city told 9NEWS.
The city does fine businesses and homeowners for not clearing the snow from the sidewalks that are their responsibility, but that happens on a complaint-basis.
Aurora says considering how much snow the city has gotten, it's been taking a "sensitive" approach to its enforcement. Typically, the violators receive a warning within the first 24 hours and then there is a charge, $25 for single-family home and $50 for others, for first and second day.
RTD says safety is its top priority and it will do what it can to clear the troubled stops if people report them.
"If people will let us know, either sent an email to rtd-denver.com or give us a call at 303-299-6000. We'll get out there as quick as we can," Reed said.
Monday, RTD said it had 18 people working to clear the stops, six dedicated to that task alone.
If there is a particular area that needs clearing, please contact Access Aurora at 303-739-7000.
Learn more about Aurora's snow removal policy here: https://www.auroragov.org/LivingHere/PublicPropertyMaintenance/SnowPlanforStreets/index.htm and here: https://www.auroragov.org/LivingHere/HomePropertyMaintenance/SnowRemovalResponsibilites/.
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