It's that time of the year

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

Now that we're heading into winter, it's time to think about snow emergencies. For those of us in Somerville, a couple of things. I am posting in full behind the cut an email I got from the city. Last year I signed up for email notification of snow emergencies, and also have it SMd to my phone. I strongly suggest you do so as well. This email should clarify the policy and give you the info you need to get through the winter without having your car ticketed or towed.



In an effort to communicate more effectively with residents regarding
snow
emergencies, the City of Somerville has instituted an Emergency Snow
Alert
Email System. You have received this email as a reminder that you have
subscribed to this service.

We have included the City's Snow Emergency Policy below.

In the future, you will receive an email when a snow emergency has been
declared.

Any questions or concerns please contact
snowalert-admin@lists.somerville.ma.us.

Thank you for your continued cooperation.


<<...OLE_Obj...>>
City of Somerville, Massachusetts
Joseph A. Curtatone
Mayor


SNOW EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
WINTER 2004-2005

The city's snow emergency policy is designed to clear streets quickly
and
effectively during a storm and to guarantee open, passable streets
during
and after the storm. This is often a difficult task in a city as
densely
populated as Somerville. In the past, failure to enforce the policy
has led
to impassable streets and snowed-in parking lots, resulting in
inconvenienced residents, reduced commerce, and endangered public
safety.


To ensure effective snow removal and avoid such problems, the city has
adopted an aggressive policy toward making sure roadways are cleared in
advance of a storm so snow plows can do their work. Residents are
advised
to read the following procedures carefully.

DECLARATION OF A SNOW EMERGENCY

* A snow emergency will be declared when four or more inches
of snow are predicted.
* The emergency will be declared six hours before the storm is
predicted to begin.
* Residents have four hours after the snow declaration to move
their cars. Ticketing and towing will begin four hours after the
declaration. (More on ticketing and towing below.) (Towing before the
snow
actually hits the ground is necessary to ensure clear streets for the
plows.)
* It is strongly advised that residents move their cars as
soon as an emergency is declared in order to avoid any confusion about
timelines.


COMMUNICATION OF A SNOW EMERGENCY

* The Commissioner of the Department of Public Works will
notify the Communications Department of the emergency. The
Communications
Department will immediately notify the local access television channel
(Channel 16 for Comcast customers; Channel 13 for RCN customers) and
all
major broadcast channels and radio stations.

* The Somerville Police will immediately begin making
announcements from their vehicles, warning residents to move their
cars.

* The emergency will be posted immediately on the City's
website, www.ci.somerville.ma.us <http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us>.

* Residents may call the 24-hour Snow Line at (617) 628-SNOW
((617) 628-7669) to find out when an emergency is in effect.
* Residents may sign up to receive an emailed snow alert by
going to <http://lists.somerville.ma.us/mailman/listinfo/snowalert>.


PARKING, TICKETING AND TOWING RULES DURING A SNOW EMERGENCY

* Parking is allowed on the odd-numbered side of the street
only during a snow emergency, unless otherwise posted. Residents with
cars
on the even side of the street must either move their cars to the odd
side
or, if they cannot find a space, move to another location (available
city
lots are listed below.)
* Ticketing of cars parked on the even-numbered side of the
street will commence on all streets four hours after the emergency is
declared.
* Towing of cars parked on the even-numbered side of the
street will also commence four hours after the emergency is declared.
* Again, it is strongly advised that residents move their cars
as soon as an emergency is declared to avoid any confusion about
timelines.


OFF-STREET PARKING LOTS OPEN DURING SNOW EMERGENCY

* Residents may park in the designated areas listed below
during a snow emergency.
* Once the snow emergency is lifted, vehicles must be removed
within two hours.

Schools

WARD 1 East Somerville Community School
WARD 2 Lincoln Park Community School
WARD 3 Cummings School
WARD 4 Healey School
WARD 5 Brown School
WARD 6 Powderhouse Community School
WARD 7 West Somerville Neighborhood School


Municipal Buildings

City Hall Concourse
Central Library
West Branch Library

Municipal parking lots Location

1. Buena Vista Lot Buena Vista Road, via
Holland St. or Meacham Rd
2. Day Street Lot Day Street
3. Grove Street Lot A Grove St. at Highland Ave,
referred to as "Brooks/Osco Lot"
4. Grove Street Lot B Grove St. east side, between
Highland Ave & Elm St, "Grove Street Lot"
5. Grove St. Lot C Grove St east side, between
Highland Ave & Elm St, "Liquor Lot"
6. Grove Street Lot D Grove St, west side between
Highland Ave & Elm St,
"McDonald's Lot"
7. Cutter Square Lot Elm St/ Summer St at Cutter
Ave
8. Magoun Square Lot Broadway at Medford Street
9. Winter Hill Lot A Broadway, north side between
Fellsway west and Wheatland St
10. Winter Hill Lot B Broadway, north side between
Wheatland St and Grant St
11. Union Square Lot Off Washington St, entrance at
Washington St/Bonner Ave
12. Prospect St Lot Prospect St at Somerville
Ave/Washington St
13. Washington St Lot Washington St opposite Columbus
Ave, "Post Office Lot"
14. Mount Vernon St Lot Broadway between Mount Vernon St
and Mt Pleasant St
15. Foss Park Lot Foss Park at Broadway


PLOWING PROCEDURES
* The streets will be treated with salt and sand once the snow
begins.
* Plowing will begin after two inches of snow has fallen.
* Main roads, cross town streets, bus routes and the "hospital
hills" will be plowed first.
* Plows will be sent out in tandem where applicable to plow to
the curb on the even side of the street.

RESIDENTS' RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SIDEWALKS
* Residents must shovel, salt or sand their sidewalks when it
snows.
* Residents have six hours between sunrise and sunset after
the snow stops to shovel sidewalks.
* Residents are not allowed to shovel snow into the street.
* Not complying with these provisions could result in a $25.00 fine.
____________________________________________________________________________
" The City of Somerville is sending this notification as a courtesy
only and accepts no liability for the timeliness or reliance thereon. This
notification should be deemed supplementary to the standard and primary
notification on the City of Somerville Official website which has an
address of www.ci.somerville.ma.us. The recipient hereof should confirm
this notification with the website and/or check with other official
notification resources such as the City of Somerville Department of Public
Works at (617)625-0300 or local public access television on City Cable
Channel 16(RCN Channel 13). The delivery of this notification may not
occur in a timely fashion which may be due to situations beyond the
control of the City. The City of Somerville accepts no liability for the
failure of an intended recipient to follow the advise herein provided."
____________________________________________________________________________
Snowalert mailing list
Snowalert@lists.somerville.ma.us
http://lists.somerville.ma.us/mailman/listinfo/snowalert

Comments

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

Another reminder to me why I am glad I do not have a car (of course, we also have a driveway...)

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

The thing that sucks for me is that I am a stagehand and work a 2nd 2nd shift job, so by the time I get home at night, finding legal parking spots can be really difficult. I lucked out last winter, though.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I don't live in Somerville, but I walk through there daily. Any idea how/if enforcement of shoveling sidewalks will be conducted? Some of the worst offenders I've seen are commercial properties and multi-families with likely absentee landlords.

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure. That would be a question for the city to answer.

[uberjay.livejournal.com]

As far as I can tell from last year, it didn't seem to be enforced much. The same apartments didn't shovel the sidewalk every time it snowed...

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

It doesn't.

I'm on a corner, and I'm sorry. Between my back, my asthma, and the fact that I'm pushing 40 (and yes, I will use that), I simply cannot shovel the whole sidewalk. I do what I can, but it's pretty much only the steps and the bit right in front in one go before I just can't manage anymore. If there's a couple with a guy living in my building, or anyone with a car, he usually does it...but when we had all girls in the three units, it didn't always get done - especially if anyone went out of town.

Even the times when no-one did it (most notable time was when I went to London over new Years 2003, a blizzard hit, and no one shoveled and the snow turned to ice - it was on the steps for two weeks)...my house has never been fined, or, to my knowledge, even confronted. If the landlord (who lives on the Cape) has been notified, he's never passed it along to us. This is in 4½ years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a pedestrian and I think there's a special circle in hell for those who don't shovel their walks. If I was in the middle of a block I could do it all myself, but I can't do the whole corner thing. I wish I could!

But I haven't ever seen anyone on my street ever get in trouble for not doing it. That's all I'm saying.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

not. at. all.

people are absolutely TERRIBLE about shoveling their portion of the sidewalk. i actually find that the worst offenders are renters on residential streets under the "not my job" perception since technically their landlord is in charge of snow removal. but with so many absentee landlords, there's very little action.

i've never heard of anyone being fined.

but whoa, leave your car parked on the wrong side of the street when not a speck of snow has yet fallen and they are quick to tow.

it annoys me. the different levels of enforcement. with parking it's strict-to-the-rules-no-exceptions but when it comes to clearing sidewalks it seems like they could care less. or less than less.

all of this makes me glad i moved. i am still a square enjoyer and visit often but the parking headaches were a huge drawback to the neighborhood.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

if you live anywhere near medford, there's usually a lot of parking there. i live really close to the city line, so it's quite convenient for me.

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

Nope, sorry. I wish I did, just for that reason. I live near Union Square and apparently a whole bunch of college kids moved into the neighborhood because parking has been really tight since September, which makes me really nervous for when it does snow.

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

I get a discount on my rent from my landlord for being responsible for shoveling (and I am very good about it).

I think the best solution to the absentee landlord excuse is for the renters to complain to the city/state. As you say, legally it is the landlord's responsibility, and if the landlord is not fulfilling their legal responsibility, the city/state is the one to step in and fix things.

May still not work, but probably more effective than a random person on the street complaining.

(Most effective: Someone falling out their ass and then suing the landlord)

"not my job"

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

That was very irritating at my abode last winter. Two-family house, 9 renters total, and the women downstairs never, I mean *never*, lifted a finger to help us shovel. When we would ask them to help, one of them literally said, "Oh, we don't do that." Um, bitch, who the hell do you think does it, then? Certainly not the landlord, who owns like 15 properties and can't get to each one to shovel, especially not when the tenants are mostly able-bodied and young. Feh.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

hey, even a cursory job would have made me happy. on my street you could pass one house that had cleared in front of their steps and then snow mountain at the next house. i'm talking about no shoveling/no effort whatsoever.

and if your landlord isn't doing it or giving you a discount to do it then i wouldn't do it either. i wasn't blaming tenants just saying the "it's the landlord's responsibility" sets up a weird dynamic in which tenants who already pay too much don't want to do free labor and no one calls the landlords on their shit, y'know?

like landlords shouldn't get away with:
a> not doing the snow removal
b> having tenants shovel for free

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Heh...whereas I mainly do it because I don't want to fall on my ass when I walk on my street...

the thought of a discount never crossed my mind. It's just in our leases, "thou shalt shovel," right there next to "no candles" and "don't leave trash out in the front before trash day."

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

The lease cannot include such a clause. Well, it can, but it is unenforceable.

From this page (http://www.gis.net/~groucho/tenant.html) (first page I found on a Google search):

Snow Removal: The landlord is required to keep all means of egress at all times in a safe, operable condition. The landlord must keep exterior stairways, fire escapes, egress balconies, and bridges free of snow and ice. The landlord cannot require you to be responsible for snow removal.

The other pages I found all said the same thing.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Heh. He probably can't ban candles, either...

I wish I had known this when the bitch really pushy downstairs neighbour demanded I take over the shovelling because she was "tired" of it and said I had to because "it's in the lease."

Yeah, boy...I was so sad when she moved out, too.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to upset anyone. It is my impression that landlords/owners are the ones responsible for shoveling. They have the option of doing it themselves, as the landlord I had when I lived in Somerville would often do, hiring out for it, or paying (rent deducting) a tenant to do it. It shouldn't be the sole responsibilty of the tenants. I wish the city would crack down on landlords and fine them, since they are saving that money by not getting it taken care of.

My biggest beef is with businesses. There's a dentist on Powderhouse circle, for example, who often doesn't get around to shoveling. They're making money by being in a major pedestrian zone and they should have to put out the effort, even if it costs them a few dollars.

There are some crappy businesses near my house in Medford, too. I fell on some compacted week-long ice once, and even though I'm not the type to sue, I wanted to because they deliberately didn't bother. Don't get me started on the MBTA...

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Oh, no...I actually didn't realise that the landlord was pulling a fast one on us! I do actually feel badly because I am a pedestrian, and I am the first to bitch about an unshovelled walk...yet I'm not really able to shovel that much.

I tend to walk in Cambridge more than Somerville, and the businesses - especially on Mass Ave. - are pretty good about the shovelling.

[lidiya6.livejournal.com]

One year "we" got a fine (I live in a 3-unit building on a corner in Somerville... as a renter, hell no I don't shovel) and I just mailed it to my landlord. Sidewalk was always shoveled after that.

[greyautumnrain.livejournal.com]

The non-resident landlords can be a real problem to those of us who own our houses too. Its not just the lack of snow removal, but the lack of leaf removal. There are houses near me where no one rakes the leaves, ever. Every year after I've done our yard we get a nice big storm that'll wash them down to the drain in front of out house. Then I get to stand out in the rain trying to unblock the drain while cars drive by and splatter me with water. Its either that or our basement floods.

I'm actually thankful that the two boys in their twenties who were living in our downstairs apartment finally moved out before snow season. I don't mind the fact that they never shovelled, not even the porch. That's my job and I don't mind it. What I did mind was the fact that when they dug their cars out (using our shovels) they'd pile the snow in the driveway, vastly increasing the amount of nastly snow-plow stuff I'd have to clear.