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Boston aggressively tickets property owners for not shoveling, goes 'eh' when told its own sidewalks go unshoveled
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Medal of Honor Park
The sidewalks on the perimeter of this park are a disgrace. Forcing kids going to school out onto busy Broadway or pedestrians forced to walk on a busy truck route on First Street. We have a lame duck City Councilor who will not criticize the Mayor for this.
Boston Sucks at Sidewalks
As I walk through the huge mounts of snow left to turn to ice in Kenmore Sq each year I think of the upcoming cyclotrack to be installed along Commonwealth Ave. Since normal street snowplows can't fit down this path it will be plowed by the same crews that handle traffic islands and the like. So much like the traffic islands, these lanes won't be usable after the first big snowfall of the year.
Boston has shown no interest in clearing public passageways, no matter how often they're called out on it. It's a real disgrace.
Im glad they being more
Im glad they being more aggressive, but we still need the City to enforce MassDOT to clear bridges and ped islands.
Think about this for a minute
So the city is taking resources away from entire departments because a few people in each can't do their jobs, yet these people still keep the jobs they're not doing. I'd expect nothing less from the city.
Insert snarky Marty Walsh union comment here.
Managers usually aren't union,
and its up to them to give the orders. Direct the rank and file to do an area and see to it that its done by actually leaving desk and looking. But that must be too hard?
Huh
I did not know that (nor do I have an issue with unions for the record, just Marty's perchance for reinforcing negative stereotypes around them through his actions).
But you're right as far as the simplicity of a manager delegating the responsibility and then making sure it gets done. And I still stand by the belief that it should cost those who are ultimately responsible for it not being done (whether a manager not directing or "rank and file" just not doing it) their own money, or jobs, instead of stripping departments that serve the public of resources.
But Wait... There's More
And the Inspectors being sent out are over-zealous, irrational, and fail to apply common sense.
Here's one I heard about today.
- Home owner shovels walk after snow storm within regulation guidelines.
- Street is plowed, snow banks created.
- Days go by
- Temps go up and snow starts to mely
- Home owner can get water backing up into driveway flooding basement when storm drains are blocked
- Home owner goes out and starts chopping at snow bank to create a channel to the storm drain
- Do-Gooder neighbor calls 311 and complains
- Inspector shows up. About age 12 (over-exaggerated but you get the picture)
- Tells home owner to stop or they will get a ticket
- Home owner ask why?
- Inspector says you are throwing snow in the street.
- Home owner says no, it was already in the street, need to make channel to
prevent basement from flooding
- Inspector says he will give ticker if they don't stop.
- Home owner tells Inspector to call supervisor to come immediately
- Super shows up and asks whet the problem is.
- Home owner explains, snow was already in street, making channel to prevent flooding,
not shoveling snow back into the street. It was already there. and for what its worthm it's
melting like crazy today.
- Supervisor (a more mature age and seasoned person) agrees.
- No citation. No violation.
Now just to let you know its not that simple and doesn't end there...
- Complaining neighbor comes out to walk the pet
- Home owner confronts them. Indeed, everyone on the street knows who does the
complaining to 311 especially when its off the rails and unnecessary.
E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E knows who does this.
- Home owner says. Hey... no citation. You loose!
- Home owner continues to chop the channel to the drain and prevents home basement from flooding.
- Home owner feels better. Busy body departs, but will likely do this again.
Once again it is proven that the 311 system is rife with problems. Lack of experience on the part of people they are sending into the street, (some likely Marty's newbies with the sandals and laptops), and over-zealous self-appointed people who have a great need to impose themselves on people for little to no reason. Indeed, no serious or specific reason.
All you needed to do was ask what was going on and get an answer. I'd have done the same if I were at risk of flooding.
And just to add to this...
- Neighbors are thinking of taking up a betting pool to see what silly-ass thing
is complained about next.
The 311 system is a great tool to help the city with its needs. It is also being overly used and abused and no one at City Hall seems to be getting this. There was no need to have a supervisor called in if the kid actually assessed the situation rationally.
And no... the city doesn't shovel its own walkways and even when they do it's a piss-poor job. Loads of BRA (or what ever its called this week) land frontage also never gets cleared. We all walk in the streets at our own risk, along with the wheelchair bound that need to get through as well.
And so that Marty doesn't feel left out... State property doesn't get cleared either.
Has anyone seen the mountain that is piled up at Forest Hills station on the Washington Street side by the cab stand? No one can see oncoming traffic when trying to leave the drop off-pick-up area. The cabs can't see either for the other direction.
Tickets for snow? Hmmmmmm.
/ End rant
Do you live next to
swirly girl?
Whats the logic behind "no
Whats the logic behind "no snow on street"
Cars can handle a half inch of snow.
Even better, it melts in 2 hours rather than 2 months
Kind of related...
Who can tell me why the city pays buckets of money to snowplow contractors who do not plow to the curb? We end up with streets narrower and narrower in repeated storms. The drivers already plow onto people's driveways, requiring the home owner to clear their mess (the public common, with the idea that everyone chips in on top of tax money?) onto lawns or who knows where. Many snowy cities, such as Montreal and NYC haul away or melt the snow from both streets and even sidewalks instead.
In the last set of snows, we saw our large avenue choke as the plows heaped the snow instead of removing it. As Spock might have said, "This s not logical, Captain."
The city should truck away or melt the snow and ice instead. The methods should not be that difficult. We'd end up with streets safer and more passable, including by emergency vehicles.
Be practical
For 99% of traffic, a road or sidewalk that's narrowly cleared is good enough.
It's not very likely that an emergency vehicles needs to zoom down a wider roadway before the snow melts.
Simply put its cost
Simply put its cost prohibitive. Do you want to pay for this?
The City's too lazy to truck away or melt the snow and ice.
It's disgusting, because it shows that the people up at the top don't give a shit about the average, ordinary, everyday people who have to contend with ultra-narrow streets, covered storm drains, and the consequences.
South Boston Waterfront
Check out the sidewalks and streets down here........looks like Ft Lauderdale. Not a snowflake to be found.