A hard winter can be particularly frustrating for people with disabilities. Icy sidewalks and curbs piled high with snow are formidable barriers for wheelchair users and others. This winter's snowfalls and freezes have challenged even the best attempts to keep paths clear.

	Martha Rial, Post-Gazette Judy Baricella, director of Disability connections, is unable to use her motorized wheelchair on the curb cut at First Avenue and Wood Street due to ice. Click photo for larger image.

Sue Etters, who is blind and uses a guide dog, has had trouble with unshoveled sidewalks in Sewickley where she boards a public bus to her job at Pittsburgh Vision Services in Oakland. She alerted Sewickley police, who accompanied her to the bus stop and then followed up with property owners who had failed to clear their sidewalks.

"It was like walking on a tray of ice cubes," Etters said.

Connie Campbell, who uses a cane and commutes from McKeesport to her job at United Cerebral Palsy in Oakland, said that icy pedestrian areas at the Port Authority's McKeesport transportation center forced her to abandon bus riding many days this winter. "If you put your cane into that stuff, you just slide," she said. Instead, she used ACCESS, a shared-ride, door-to door service sponsored by Port Authority for people with disabilities and those over age 65. Judy Barricella, who uses a motorized wheelchair and drives a van to her job as director of Disability Connections in the county's Department of Human Services, says she is fortunate to be able to park next to her workplace, but notes that once she gets into the building, she's often "stuck there the rest of the day" because of the poor condition of downtown sidewalks and crosswalks.

Pittsburgh and most surrounding communities require that sidewalks be cleared of snow and impose fines for failure to do so. (Pittsburgh's is $300). As Etters learned in Sewickley, enforcement can be effective.

	More info Port Authority Customer Service, 412-442-2000 ACCESS Transportation, 412-562-5353 Mayor's Service Center (City of Pittsburgh only) 412-255-2621 Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, 412-371-7700 Help for air travelers Thinking of escaping to a warmer climate? The federal Office of Aviation Enforcement has started a tollfree hot line offering information about the rights of travelers with disabilities and a place to report problems. The hot line -- 1-800-778-4838 (voice) or 1-800-455-9880 (TTY) -- is staffed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Not surprisingly, the finer points of snow removal are significant to wheelchair users. Even when streets and sidewalks are clear, curbs and curb cuts usually are not. Plows often leave piles of snow at the curb, blocking the path. Buses also need a level space to lower a wheelchair ramp.

The snow-covered curb cut has been the subject of frequent complaints heard this winter at Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, an agency that serves people with disabilities.

"No one seems to know who's responsible for clearing them," said Brenda Dare, a community organizer at the agency.

Property owners are responsible for clearing curb cuts, said Ben Carlise, an administrator in the city's Department of Public Works.

Clearing snow piles on the street side of the curb, however, is the city's responsibility, he said, adding that the cash-strapped city no longer has crews to deal with these.

Another frequent problem for people with limited mobility is keeping their own walkways and sidewalks free of snow. Many say it's difficult to find anyone to shovel snow, even for pay. Churches, synagogues, senior centers or block clubs may be a resource for finding help.

Keeping your own walkways clear is particularly important if you use ACCESS, whose drivers are not permitted to help people from their houses to the vehicle unless walkways are clear. (ACCESS service for people with disabilities allows for curb service in poor weather conditions.) The drivers make the call on whether the path is sufficiently clear.

These policies are "the result of 25 years of keeping customers safe and preventing undue risk," explains Holly Dick, ACCESS customer liaison. She has "spent a lot of time on the phone this winter explaining these policies" to distressed customers. Because demand for ACCESS is heavier during harsh weather, delays are frequent. Dare said that ACCESS should add staff and improve maintenance so that more vehicles are operating in winter. Are snowier cities such as Buffalo, N.Y., better equipped to handle these problems?

Not really, says Melynda Smyntek of Buffalo's Center for Independent Living. "A lot of people are permanently in their houses for a couple of months."

To help with these winter woes, Brenda Dare, who has doggedly driven her wheelchair onto Port Authority buses all winter, has some practical advice: Buy the best outerwear you can afford and, if you have breathing problems, cover your mouth and nose with a scarf.

"Grandma was right," she adds.