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

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Whether or not you rent bears not at all on whether or not clearing the sidewalk is your responsibility. Somerville law marks no difference at all between your part in it and your landlord's. The specific turn of phrase is a clever bit prose which asserts that no tenant, resident, owner, or agent thereof shall suffer to remain ice/snow/blahblahblah for some period of time. There is no language there which absolves you. So unless you have a clause in your lease wherein the landlord assumes responsibility for snow removal, when the ticket comes, you have as much responsibility for it as does your landlord. Now, state law trumps that, of course - but speaks only to the responsibility for owners of property greater than n units - and I'm not sure to what integer n currently resolves, (or indeed the applicability of such to your situation)

The point here is that whether or not you rent isn't at issue.

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I think you are right about the letter of the law, but I can assure you from first-hand experience that the landlord/property owner gets the ticket. I didn't mind getting the ticket because it let me know that the tenants (who have snow clearing in their lease) were not doing it, and I could make sure it got done. It did bother me that I got a fine without getting a warning first, but it wasn't that much money and I just paid it in the interest of having the city make sure the sidewalks were clear.

This last storm was brutal for everyone who tried to clear their sidewalks. No matter what. And a lot of people do have to go to work during the day so they clear the sidewalks in the morning and when they get home from work, but that means they miss the warmest part of the day for ice clearing. Let's all take a deep breath and remember we live in a city!

OTOH, there are some very bad houses where the sidewalk never, ever gets cleared. They deserve to get slapped around.

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

OTOH, there are some very bad houses where the sidewalk never, ever gets cleared. They deserve to get slapped around.

From what I've read here in the past, the same thing can be said about some areas that are the responsibility of the city.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

See also: Nathan Tufts Park. Though I don't recommend seeing that sidewalk in person until April.