Free Ice Skating Lessons Courtesy of Irresponsible Somerville Home Owners

[playitasitlays.livejournal.com]

I've never posted here before and I'm not much of a complainer, but I really think Somerville property owners should be held more accountable for keeping their sidewalks ice and hazard free. I live in Spring hill and walk down summer street to the porter square t every day and the sidewalks this morning were once again absolutely impassable. With the exception of one or two buildings whose owners had diligently shoveled, salted, and sanded, every walkway was a solid sheet of ice.

The melt and freeze cycle that we are currently experiencing should come as no suprise to any home or busines owner, and the failure of most to prepare and deal with this issue is thoughtless and infuriating. If I, a quite fit young man fortunate enough to own quality winter boots, am forced to walk down the road because the sidewalks are too slippery, I cannot imagine how difficult this task must be for anyone who is elderly or infirm.

Grandma shouln't have to worry whether she can get to the QF MArt to buy cat food without breaking a hip.

I don't know whether there are laws that can be enforced and/or fines exacted, but it would be nice to see some of the Somerville meter maids, whose impressively zealous campaign against parking infractions are legendary, were temporarily assigned to the task of insuring that walking remain an option in Somerville troughout the wintery months. At the very least it could generate some much-needed revenue for the town in these troubled times, since as of now, I would say only 1/16th of the sidewalks in Somerville are anywhere near safe.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Last night I mostly just walked in the street rather than risk the sidewalks. Things seem better today.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

yeah, and then yesterday most of the kids going to school on powderhouse were walking in the street getting to school..

[ifotismeni]

i have to say, even for those of us who have made a good effort (ice picks, salt, sand) the slush/ice combination lately has made it very hard to keep the sidewalks clean. not excusing the folks who have made NO effort but especially if your sidewalks don't get any sun, it's been kind of hard.

[spatch]

We salted our walk on Wednesday night before bed. The neighbors sanded their walk at around the same time.

Overnight it appears that the temperature rose just enough to melt, and then refroze over. When I went out at 7:00 am, my walk was back to a sheet of ice while the neighbor's was a sheet of mud underneath a clear sheet of ice. The roads were also completely iced over, and the slightest slope caused even boot-wearin god-fearin folk to slide.

Nobody won on the overnight. It sucked all around. In this case I'm totally blaming Nature for this crap and not writing passive-aggressive bitchnotes to LJ about it.

Today I watched a lot of people with the ice-choppin' shovels, though. We're getting mad enough now that brute force is the only satisfying way to do it.

Things you could do:

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Call 311 and report the uncleared sidewalks, or do it on their online interface.

Travel with ice melt (I'm seriously considering it) and sprinkle it on the worst spilt areas.

Shovel a bit more than one's own house when shoveling (I already do that).

But yes, I agree with you that people with any mobility impairments are completely screwed in the winter, and that also pisses me off.

Re: Things you could do:

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

And buy some Yaktrax, as well.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

Actually, I sort of regretted making an effort to shovel my walk last night. After I was done, I realized that with the run-off, etc, it was going to just freeze over, and instead of the nice crunchy slushy ice, which gives at least some traction, I was going to leave a beautiful sheet of smooth ice.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

the smoother stuff at least you can glide on.. the really choppy stuff hurts so much to pick your way across.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

I hear ya. My husband slipped on an icy corner down our street today (at a house that I swear has not shoveled *all* winter) and got seriously bruised -- he had to go to MGH to get looked at, he was in so much pain. I called 311, and the woman blandly said she would relay the message to whatever office goes and checks out such complaints about sidewalks, but she sounded a little too disinterested, in my view. If my husband has to go to the hospital, I am officially pissed.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

there are a lot of lawyers that would probably be willing to help. I'm not the suing type, but there are some selfish landowners that probably deserve it.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I hear you. I almost slipped on our brick walkway at work which WAS de-iced, in theory. I could see the little white dots of it. But yesterday's weather was just brutal. With the water backed up into the street in our area, the sidewalk to street intersections were just solid sheets of ice because of the standing water.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you, I walk to work every day and recently it has been a huge hazard. Today I used Yak Trax and they worked really, really well. I recommend them. If it is any consolation, I know for a fact that people get fined, because my house got fined a few weeks ago when there was some household confusion about who was supposed to be shoveling/de-icing. We have been far more vigilant since. I'm sort of curious about houses that seem to never de-ice though and have a solid 3-4 inches of ice on their sidewalks. Are they fined every day?

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

I put some ice melt in a plastic bag and sprinkled it in a trail like breadcrumbs on my way to the bike path this morning. Walking down Alpine was ridiculous. I doubt my efforts made much difference, alas.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I've been surprised at the amount of ice melt it takes to make a difference. And by that I mean melt enough to matter and then STAY melted.

Part of the reason the streets are in better shape than the sidewalks, I am convinced, is because there are huge amounts of salt/ice melt poured onto them. It's not just the plowing.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i kind of think the city should invest in yaktrax for everyone.

[alexdw.livejournal.com]

Perhaps the city should invest in some sidewalk salt...

[docorion.livejournal.com]

I'm with the 'not complaining' crowd. I deposited MgCl₂ (pet safe, melts more ice than regular salt, blah, blah) on my sidewalk when I got home last night/this morning (around 1am) because it did not appear anyone else had done so. (I live in an apartment building; my landlord is actually pretty good about snow removal and salting, but the weather last night just washed it off, I suspect). In the morning, it did not appear as if any salt had been applied anywhere around my building (which, since *I, personally* did it before I went to sleep, was obviously false). I applied more; in the afternoon, it once again appeared as if little or no salt had been applied (I applied yet still more). People who are working can salt in the morning before they go, and in the evening when they get home, but during the middle of the day, I recommend walking on the street, and assuming *some* good faith effort on the part of your fellow person. Most people likely *did* salt, and almost everyone shoveled so far as I can tell. It's just sucking on the sidewalks right now. The city can afford (for now) to send trucks around to put metric tons of salt and sand on the streets to replace the stuff which washes away; most citizens have jobs (I do too, but I worked until midnight last night, and was off today; most people have day jobs), and so cannot be home salting and sanding all day long.

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

Say more about this pet-safe ice melt?

[xuth.livejournal.com]

For all those having trouble getting rid of the ice, it's supposed to be sunny and above freezing tomorrow afternoon. Put down a bunch of salt as soon as possible and then tomorrow evening you should be able to rid yourself of much of the ice.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Based on some comments (and what I've seen of some of my neighbors), it seems that many people may not realize that there is a second step when using ice melt, which is to clear the stuff once it melts enough to do so.

(I learned that recently when I read the instructions on the bag, and hey, it worked.)

Obviously that won't solve it in cases where there is continuous melting run-off that re-freezes on the sidewalk, which is part of why things are so bad right now, but it's not everything.

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

Massive fucking word. Due consideration for the people who try but are thwarted by nature's giggles, but A) some people very obviously make no effort at all to keep their sidewalks safe for pedestrians, and I don't think it's because they've successfully predicted the future when no one else did, and B) some people's walks are clear, or at least somewhat walkable, and some people's walks on the same level and with the same drainage are icy hell, and the variable factor here is the homeowner. There are 30'+ long stretches on both sides of my street that are smooth, slippery, unbroken ice, banked by piles of snow, and they've been there for several days. I'm not a huge fan of ratting out my neighbors for ignoring municipal laws, even when they deserve it, but at this point, I'm one near-fall away from calling 311 on them.

I make a point of thanking people whom I see shoveling, sanding, or salting their walks.

It's not "property owners"

[obra.livejournal.com]

Just as a point of information, in Somerville the responsibility rests with the residents:
http://www.somervillema.gov/Section.cfm?org=admin&page=134 (http://www.somervillema.gov/Section.cfm?org=admin&page=134).

Re: It's not "property owners"--yes, it is (sort of)

[read-w.livejournal.com]

Despite what that Web page says, it's equally the responsibility of owners and tenants--municipal code 12.8: No owner, tenant, or occupant of land or a building abutting upon a sidewalk within the limits of any public way in this city, and no agent of such owner having the charge of such land or building shall place or suffer to remain on such sidewalk for more than six hours between sunrise and sunset on any day, any snow or any ice, unless such ice is made even and covered with sand or other suitable material to prevent slipping.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

and yet, as much as Somerville sucks, Medford sucks way more. They're just only now thinking of enforcing the snow removal authority. A few of my neighbors merrily dump the snow from the driveway onto the sidewalk.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOD, I work on George Street and walking to my office from the bus stop is like the Ice Capades. About 1 out of 5 people on that street actually clear their walks. And the drivers stare at me incredulously as I walk in the street.

[dani-namaste.livejournal.com]

trust me, it's not just Somerville. The same problem is happening in Watertown and Belmont.

[jennyelfenmass.livejournal.com]

Yup, I took a nasty spill near the Lowell school last night.

[snakeyesboy.livejournal.com]

I have been walking on the street too. I live on a corner and I shovel one side of the corner and the other tenant is supposed to shovel the other side. Well he never does, or does it poorly, and I found out from my landlord that he was getting tickets. $50 for not even shoveling, $25 for shoveling but leaving a layer of ice or snow.

[crschmidt.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I've been working my ass off on this -- to the tune of almost two hours per day -- and getting nowhwere. I've *finally* got a bit about 5 feet long that's relatively clear, and I'm seeing some headway in other areas, but I some of the stuff, I can't even touch.

I've literally pulled out the sledgehammer for some of this stuff: it's literally 3 inches thick. Ice melt doesn't touch it when it's that much, and even if I get some of it up, water comes down the hill above the walk and undoes everything I try to do.

Yes, some people aren't even trying. The worst case in my neighborhood is the Cambridge Housing Authority, which has been diligent about the front side of their building and completely ignored the half-block long walk behind it. But I'm working my ass off on it -- ice melt, chip chip chip, ice melt, chip chip chip -- and I'm still barely changing the state of things.

This shit is nasty, and the geography/layout of the area can make it really hard to keep it clean.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

I know it's of little help right now, but the best thing you can do to get rid of ice is to not let it accumulate. Clean up immediately after a storm before anyone has a chance of walking on it. For longer storms clean up during the storm too.
If you do have ice, do everything you can to help it to evaporate and break up during the day when it's warmest and driest. Before you leave for work in the morning (assuming you're a standard 9-5 wage slave) be sure there's no snow covering the ice, snow only serves to insulate it. Put down plenty of salt or other ice melt to liquify and pit the ice. Note that plain rock salt only works to about 15 degrees, other chemicals will work at lower temperatures. Then when you get home in the evening do what you can to remove any of the remaining ice. The earlier you do this the better.
If you're already doing all of these things then I'm not sure what else I could suggest. I just know that I've never had a problem with ice when I've done the above.

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

I think you have to remember that a large percentage of the population are renters. So you have a ton of houses with multiple renters living inside and the reality is some/a lot of them won't care about the sidewalks. Since they don't own the house they don't feel invested. Sure they might make a few attempts but aren't going to be out there sanding every 15 mins.

My 2 cents is that we live in a city and the sidewalks should be city business. We pay taxes etc to clear the streets for cars and buses, why not do the same for pedestrians on the sidewalks.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

Also, with most renters, there's more than one apartment, so there may not be communication over whose job it is to clear...

[kalliejenn2.livejournal.com]

to everyone who keeps saying "just wear yaktraks"...seriously, that's not working. i wear them every day, and i'm still sliding all over the place. the spots of sheer ice in some places are just too slick for them to get much traction.

[sapphira-altair.livejournal.com]

I don't know whether there are laws that can be enforced and/or fines exacted, but it would be nice to see some of the Somerville meter maids, whose impressively zealous campaign against parking infractions are legendary, were temporarily assigned to the task of insuring that walking remain an option in Somerville troughout the wintery months. At the very least it could generate some much-needed revenue for the town in these troubled times, since as of now, I would say only 1/16th of the sidewalks in Somerville are anywhere near safe.

Keep in mind that if *you* are having trouble getting around on foot, the meter maids probably are as well.

You can report people who have obviously not made an effort to clear their walks online (http://citizen.somervillema.intelligovsoftware.com/) or call 311. Keep in mind that if the residents/tenants/landlord/whomever has made an obvious effort to keep the walks clear, they likely will not get a ticket.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

This is the hugest thing I don't miss about living in Somerville. It's insane the way no one shovels. When I was in my apartment (which is three units in a house) I was the only one who did anything, me, the over-40 single asthmatic woman. The 20-something men? Ha. Now that I'm almost moved out and hardly ever go there, guess what? No one's shoveling. Not even the front steps of the house! According to our leases, we're supposed to do the shovelling, too. I guess they didn't actually read those, though...

I live in Southie now, and the streets are much, much better here. What's really, really wrong is that the Fort Point Channel Harborwalk (http://www.bostonharborwalk.com/placestogo/location.php?nid=5) is cleared better and more frequently than Summer Street in Somerville...and it's not even a necessary walkway!

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

That's because in Southie everyone shovels their walks so they can get out to the street and stick their old lawn furniture in their parking spots.

I work in the neighborhood, and the Fort Point Channel Harborwalk is a seriously needed pedestrian route, particularly between Congress and Summer - there's no other way down, short of that precarious metal staircase on the bridge over A Street.

What's really, really, really wrong, though, is that the Harborwalk is cleared better than the Summer Street bridge in Boston.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

Believe me, I'm usually the first to call 311 on repeated icy sidewalk offenders. But these last few days have been completely different.

I'm going to guess the original poster isn't a property owner and hasn't been trying to stay on top of this ice removal/abating for the past week. Every time I chip the ice away, the weather warms up just enough to melt some more snow. I throw down salt which works but the water has no place to run to as the snowbanks on all sides have turned into ice dams. The sidewalks eventually refreeze. Things are not helped by the fact that almost all storm drains are frozen over.

Further, the schedule I keep allows me only certain times to address the ice issue. For the past few days I have been working on my sidewalk (and driveway) twice a day. Once before I go to work and once when I get home. The weather and drainage is in such a state that the walk can completely refreeze in that time. If you happen to come by my house at, say, 6PM, it's entirely possible the sidewalk will be a sheet of ice. There's simply not much I can about this. Sorry. I have made every reasonable effort.

If you think you can do a better job on my sidewalk, you're more than welcome to come on over and try. If you could take care of my driveway too, it'd be great. Thankfully, this morning my walk was completely free of ice. Here's to hoping it's still that way when I get home.

Yes, there are irresponsible property owners who make no effort to clear their sidewalk. But that's no different than any other winter. By all means, if you see the same folks with this problem storm after storm then report them to the city. But cut the rest of us "irresonsible Somerville home owners" some slack for the next few days, please. It's New England. It's cold. It's icy. Sometimes that's just the way it is.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Has anyone tried putting out doormats on their ice patches? Luckily I don't have a sidewalk, but I have put a few "old tire" style doormats on my ice and they have dutifully frozen into the front door walkway, leaving me with something the postal carrier can walk on without killing his/herself.

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

I'm going to agree that the last couple days are simply something you have to live with a couple times a year.

Only thing I'll add is that if you live near a drain on a street, do us all a solid by making sure the meltoff can flow there.

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

I called 311 today to complain about a house next door to me in which the contractor working on it is working in the house everyday while ignoring the sidewalks. They didnt even salt. 311 told me they will send the inspector over.

I am lucky that my side of the street gets a lot of sun in the afternoon and melts away the ice. Yesterday I threw a ton of salt down and then had my husband do more when he came home at 2. By last night most of the ice was gone. I dont know what I would do if the sun didnt help though.