In a video posted on TikTok, a creator (@chronicallyartist) who uses a wheelchair gave insight into the difficulties of using the sidewalks that neighbors do not maintain.
"POV: You're a wheelchair user and your neighbor won't trim their overgrown plants," the text that overlaid the video read. In it, vines are hitting the wheelchair user as they try to move through the sidewalk.
"Please trim your hedges especially if they have thorns like this one cause this lowkey hurts," the creator wrote in the video. They also specified that they could not simply cross the road to avoid the hedge because there was no dropped curb that allows wheelchairs to get up on the sidewalk.
"Gotta love having to absolutely ram your way through a massively overgrown plant with thorns," the OP wrote in the video caption.
Neighbors who disregard necessary safety precautions cause harm not only to people, as this video illustrates, but also to the environment. Not trimming plants can be unhealthy to the plant itself, depending on the species, as well as damaging the sidewalk and other infrastructure. Equally, plants creeping across the boundary of one's yard could damage other people's plants, causing a nuisance to community upkeep.
Plus, when it's harder to navigate a neighborhood on foot (or in a wheelchair), residents are more likely to drive, creating more traffic, noise, and pollution.
One commenter put it best as they explained exactly why this is harmful to the community.
"Homeowners need to keep pavements free from overgrowth," they said. "It's even worse when people park their cars there as well."
Keeping sidewalks blocked is a recurring problem among homeowners who share streets with their neighbors. It speaks to the difficulties and damage that could ignite when some neighbors don't take the shared community as seriously as others.
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Absolutely not 💯 "Depends on country laws, but could be a fineable ticket for not maintaining their sidewalk," wrote another user. "Same thing if someone slips on snow/ice in the winter, could also maybe sue for injury from thorns."
Another thought it was a matter of courtesy for the community:
"I always check to make sure my plants don't do that," they wrote. "Bikes, wheelchairs, kids. City can fine you but it's common courtesy."
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