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.

[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.

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.

[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.

[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.

Re: Things you could do:

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

And buy some Yaktrax, as well.

[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?

[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.

[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]

And then if you are one of the lucky people living on the even side of the street, and have a driveway, the snow that the plow dumps at the base of your driveway will prevent all the runoff from the driveway and surrounding area from running into the street, creating first a puddle across the sidewalk and then a thick layer of ice. My sidewalk is in decent shape -except- for that bit across the driveway. *sigh*

[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.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

Then hooray! Perhaps I was useful. I sprinkled a bit wherever there was a particularly slidey patch, and then dumped the rest on some guy's driveway that was very angled and meant walking across it would pull you down towards the street / ice piles.

[mrboboto.livejournal.com]

Yeah we've done just about everything we can do (and we rent, so it's not even our job) and it just re-freezes as soon as we melt it. In this weather, you just have to suck it up and deal with the ice. Obviously some people haven't even tried, but if the sidewalks are mostly clear of snow and the ice is thin that's the best you can get.

[ifotismeni]

yeah same here, i'm a renter (though i gladly do housework, i live here too). i'm recently unemployed so i was home all day today, went outside about 4 times during the day to salt and chip away at the ice. pretty much nothing doing there. until we get a really good thaw, this kind of ice is kicking all our asses.
gotta say this year was the one that finally convinced me to get yaktrax.

[alexdw.livejournal.com]

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

[ckd]

Or just issue flamethrowers.

Re: Things you could do:

[arrowintwolakes.livejournal.com]

At the base of Winter Hill* anyway, campons may be more prudent.

*Blah blah, irony, aptly named, blah

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

We live on the even side of a dead-end street. They only ever clear off the odd side. It's lame. A couple days ago, they towed our car for being a foot from the curb. There was no choice--the snow was backed up to the left side of the car, from where people shoveled themselves out *last* time.

[zaarwin-devolve.livejournal.com]

Bad idea. (http://www.lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/CanadaWorld/2008/12/23/7835891.html) (Well, hilarious in a schadenfreude kind of way, but still bad.)

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I think this is really the only thing that would make a difference. The problem is that when you want clear sidewalks the MOST is at like 8 am when you're on your way to work and most people have not yet had a chance to salt their sidewalks, or at 5 pm when you are on your way home and people haven't been home from work long enough to do it.

And in cases where it is pouring rain right up until the point where it is freezing, someone has to be out in force at 5 am ready to salt the pavement the instant the water stops flowing. Expecting property owners to take care of it when it has to be done every two hours on some days is just not practical (especially when the supermarket sells out of salt mid-storm!!!)

[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.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I think part of the problem here is that people may not realize how ice melt is meant to be used. And I don't mean to direct this just at you, but at everyone, and in particular the folks who've mentioned that they put down salt, and there was ice the next day.

Ice melt does not solve the problem on it's own -- what it does is facilitate ice melting *so that it can be easily removed*. That last part is key. When I de-iced, I put down ice melt, then went back out in the next hour to clear. Then more ice melt, then more clearing later. In theory, if the surface is sufficiently sloped, enough ice melt may do the job on its own, but most sidewalks are not like that.

[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.