Previously, fresh snowfalls were cleared first from main roads and by areas like construction sites before being removed from pavements and cycle lanes. As men are more likely to drive and women more likely to travel on foot, more women slipped on the ice which led to complaints that the system was sexist.
Vice-mayor of Stockholm, the Green Party’s Daniel Helldén,
admitted that “equality snow removal” had failed the city, and apologised to residents who had injured themselves as a result.
When the Red-Green coalition, comprising politicians from the Social Democratic Party, Green Party, Left Party, and Feminist Initiative, were elected to City Hall in 2014 the introduction of a “feminist” snow clearance was high on the agenda.
But police last week said the system is so bad, with ambulances unable to make their way along Stockholm’s roads, it posed a danger to society. Officer Fredrik Ståhle
branded the conditions for drivers in the city “deplorable”.