“I almost died.”

That was how one Hamden High School student described crossing a five-foot-tall wall of snow that blocked access to the crosswalk, for nearly four days, near the CVS Pharmacy, a route used daily by students who walk or are dropped off before school. Mrs. Lazaro, a clerk in the main office, said that more than two students almost fell into oncoming traffic while descending the snow bank. 

Alarmed by the danger to students, Lazaro and fellow clerk Mrs. Fox spent hours calling for help, contacting the mayor, public works, CVS Pharmacy, and the Hamden High Custodial Department, among others. Each, they said, claimed that clearing the space in between the sidewalk and the road was someone else’s responsibility. 

“Public works shovels the sidewalks, and the state plows the streets. The Hamden High Custodial Department is responsible for the area around and in front of the school,” Lazaro said. “So, who clears what is in between?”

Custodian Mike Casale said that the businesses should clear the snow bank, but when Fox later called CVS Pharmacy, the representative she spoke to said that CVS was solely responsible for clearing its own parking lot. 

Casale said that he would “just go over there and clear it, just so the students are safe.” Yet, he cannot, because he would have to go through the process of getting permission to do so.

As of publication, the snowbank has been cleared. The intersection of Conolly Parkway and Dixwell Avenue is no longer obstructed.