The Winter Storm

The forecasts didn’t disappoint. By mid-day Friday, we had several inches of the white stuff to play in and photograph. Heeding the weather warnings had prevented us from suffering a repeat of Snowpocalypse 2014, and local power outages were relatively short-lived. If a winter storm was in the cards, this one was about as good as it gets.

Late Friday morning, I bundled up and took to the snowy streets and nearby forest paths on foot — and immediately noticed how quiet everything was. Blessedly, peacefully quiet. There’s a magical quality to the way snow softens sound, but there was something else, too: The near total absence of car traffic on neighborhood streets and local arterials.

The usual road noise had been replaced by joyful sounds of children playing. Kids sledded with confidence, knowing that the streets were essentially theirs for the day. Neighbors greeted each other and stopped to chat. Walking had instantly become the safest and most reliable way to get around, and it turns out to be quite a pleasant way, too — provided there are interesting (or at least useful) destinations we can safely and comfortably walk to.

Despite ample storm warnings and widespread cancellations and closures, people soon began inquiring on social media whether local roads were passable. Many admitted to simply having a sudden case of cabin fever. Without free use of our cars, residents had quickly begun to feel trapped.

There’s a lesson here, and maybe someday we’ll be wise enough to heed it as we did the winter weather forecast this time around. Driving is a great convenience, but being dependent on driving is an impediment to mobility and connection. There is a better way to structure our communities — to create safer streets, to make our places more accessible to people outside of cars, and to give ourselves and our children more freedom. The only way to get there is to take the first step.

Beth Warren

Marietta