The biggest snowfall in 111 years proved a real test for the “gender-equal” snow removal policy of the new municipal council controlled by a Left-Green coalition, demanding that sidewalks be cleared before streets.
The city government wanted bike paths and sidewalks cleared because women use them, while roads frequented by male-dominated motor vehicle traffic.
But chaos ensued for both genders, according to the tabloid Aftonbladet’s headline, “Feministisk snöröjning funkar inte i Stockholm” [Feminist Snow Removal Flunks in Stockholm].
Buses, some filled with women, were stuck by the hundreds on roads blocked by stalled cars. Light rail trains moved at half speed, forcing stranded commuters to walk for hours to get home from work. Schools were shut down.
Daniel Helldén, a Green Party member who is vice mayor for traffic, blamed the snowfall. “Gender-equal snow cleaning is not to blame here,” he told the Expressen newspaper, maintaining that the policy had apparently not been followed.
He explained the rationale for gender-equal snow removal: “It hurt more when you fall when walking and cycling, while those who drive are comfortable no matter whether it’s snowing. It is about three times as many pedestrians who are injured than motorists in weather like this. … But there is also an accessibility argument that the city should be accessible to all. Snow and ice keeps many at home. Above all, it affects women who increasingly are walking and cycling more than men.”
Fredrik Antonsen complained on his Iotakt blog : “The Green Party’s policies — whether it’s about energy, security and defense, schools or snow removal — is a policy that does not work when reality intrudes on it. The Green Party is a party that dreams, that is so naive it hurts. Yesterday’s snow chaos had been difficult without the Green Party’s ideas, but became even harder when the ideas became reality.”
2 comments
We sure are living in a f@#$%d up world.
Jeeez, No wonder Trump won US elections, this world and its snowflake generation is killin it.
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