[bscb-l] snow removal

[Alison]

YES!! I agree with everything in Alice's message below.  We should write this stuff into our resolution (plus fines for people and snowplows that pile up snow on sidewalks) instead of the other policy mentioned before!  This policy would be much better for the whole community, and it would make BSCB look like problem-solvers, which is what everyone respects these days.

People used to call FDR a communist, but you have to admit, he saved the US economy from utter disaster and he also got a lot of good public works projects started (like the Rural Electrification Act, which brought electricity to my mother's hometown for the first time).  Why can't we use some creativity to get the sidewalks cleared in the winter?  Advocating for Alice's suggestions would work a lot better than mindlessly punishing private citizens because they can't follow some arbitrary new rule...Not only are Alice's suggestions fairer, but they would actually work--we'd actually get the sidewalks clear!  The other idea is unfair and it won't really work in the end anyway.

PS:  Regarding the side-thread about salt: note that putting salt on the roads before a storm starts is actually a very good idea--it prevents a lot of car accidents, because if you wait to salt until after the snow is falling, the salt can't get down to the bottom layer immediately, and you end up with slushy, icy roads for a few hours.  I am a big advocate for salt because I've been in several car accidents and I've also slipped on ice and broken bones as a pedestrian--so I truly realize the danger that exists.  I agree with you that most salting trucks and snowplows do a half-hearted job, but I do really appreciate the chemicals that keep the roads and sidewalks from being slippery.  I welcome it when people use less-caustic chemicals (like kitty litter or actual sand instead of salt) but those don't always work on the coldest days, so I can understand why people might want to err on the side of caution... I imagine that these chemicals are especially bothersome for guide dog paws, but I assume that slipping and falling (or being hit by a car that slides on the road next to you) would be much worse...

--Alison


----- Original Message -----
From: "alice dampman Humel" <alicedh at verizon.net>
To: bscb-l at acb.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 3:43:08 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [bscb-l] snow removal



Hi, Bob, 
    Well, you asked... 
    Unemployment? Well, get people out there cleaning up the streets, fixing things, picking up litter, planting flowers in the medians, and, yes, clearing public sidewalks of snow, trash, and other assorted filth. Remember the WPA? This kind of work also increases people's pride in their neighborhoods and their sense of well-being, which in turn decreases vandalism and littering and other behaviors and activities that bring a neighborhood and its residents down. 
    There is also the possibility of using prison labor, which is done to a certain extent. 
    After school programs for kids with nothing to do? A little fresh air, a  little exercise? 
    
    And if the cities and towns can afford to have the big snow plows driving around at about 90 miles an hour, doing a piss-poor job of clearing the streets, and throw literally tons and tons of caustic chemicals on the streets, sometimes even *before* it snows, then they can perhaps divert some of that money into sending these guys out with little snowplows to do the sidewalks, at least along major pedestrian routes. 
    There are many creative solutions to so many problems if people would  only think outside the box. 
alicedh at verizon.net 
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