The city's own report makes our argument for us
We don't have to exaggerate anything. The Public Works staff report to the committee concedes the points that matter most.
But that single pass comes after every snowfall, all winter, on a hillside the city already pays outside contractors to clear on an overstretched budget. Add it up and clearing the median sidewalk is a real, recurring cost. Plowing to the center, where the snow has always gone, avoids it entirely. Net-net, the old way saves money.
A small, admitted cost is a fair price for safe driveways, walkable streets, and a neighborhood every resident can actually get around.
It is also a matter of access
Some of our neighbors use wheelchairs. Snow packed across driveways and curb ramps cuts them off from their own street. The Americans with Disabilities Act treats the pedestrian access a city provides as a public service that must be kept usable. Plowing to the center clears the driveways and curb ramps our disabled and elderly neighbors depend on; packing snow to the curb buries them.
The Highland Park center walks are on city land. Closing them all winter contradicts the city's own policy. And nothing in that policy requires curb plowing, so the Council can restore the old practice by simple direction.