New snow shovelling policy

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

I'm going to pick a fight in a passive aggressive way, if that is possible.

So Somerville fines if you shovel snow into the street??!!!
http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1689216222/Fines-set-for-Somervilles-non-shovelers

This is bogus on so many ways.

First of all, during the last storm, right after I shoveled my sidewalk and "shoveled" snow onto my sidewalk. Not just into my driveway (which I've come to expect). Can I fine the city for that?

So is this defined as into the middle of the street, or along the edges? Sometimes you have to shovel just a little bit into the first couple feet of the street. If someone shovels out their car, will that trigger it?

In general, I find it annoying that my real estate taxes go to clearing the roads (which I don't even use since I'm doing my part by not driving) so I guess I have a chip on my shoulder.

And hopefully I just don't understand the regulation. What is the definition of shoveling into the street that they are going off of?

Comments

More on the list:

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

* expect the fire truck to come to your home if it is in flames.
* expect an ambulance to come in the case of an emergency.

Re: More on the list:

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

Sure, totally agreed, but the % of the cost that goes to emergency vehicles is small. The % of general funds going to pay for the roads should be correspondingly small.

Re: More on the list:

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Think it through.

The emergency vehicles cannot A) predict where they are going to be needed or B) use only some "correspondingly small" percentage-clear road to arrive at your home from their garage.

In other words, in order for the emergency response function of local government to be met when there is snow on the ground, all of the roads must be kept reasonably clear.

The amount of general funds required to do so is independent of the number of vehicles using the roads, and instead is dependent upon the amount and type of snowfall.

Let's - as a thought experiment - imagine a world wherein it is as you say: the "percentage share" of roadway use engaged by emergency vehicles is calculated, and that percentage of the cost of road clearing is then borne by the city, and no more.

Some questions about that world:

* Who removes the rest of the snow? As has been previously noted, having only some roads made only partially clear fails to be a useful state for emergency response. In order to clear those roads in a timely fashion requires human intervention - waiting for it to melt is not an acceptable answer.

* How much time does it take to remove the rest of the snow?

Making a couple of assumptions - namely that the snow is removed in a timely fashion by private plow-owners.

* Should those individuals be compensated for their time? For their fuel? For vehicle upkeep?

* Where does *that* money come from?

Now, I'm not suggesting that there exists no other model for the solution of the road plowing problem, but I'm curious to know what you actually have in mind. The "pay for the share of traffic" argument is pretty flawed, and I can't imagine that you actually meant that seriously.

While I think it's lame to shovel snow into the road...

[turil.livejournal.com]

The excuse of emergency vehicles needing to use the road is also lame, because in snowy parts of the world like New England, they should be prepared for snow on the roads by having vehicles that can easily travel in the snow. It's pretty pathetic that we have Mars rovers wandering all over another planet with NO ROADS AT ALL (oh, my god!!!), but our emergency vehicles have these ridiculous slick tires that have no traction whatsoever.

Re: While I think it's lame to shovel snow into the road...

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

And you're back outside of that pesky 'reality' constraint that the rest of us all have to deal with. I was wondering how long it'd take you.

Re: While I think it's lame to shovel snow into the road...

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

it's someone who has never seen a HMMWV have snowchains.

Re: While I think it's lame to shovel snow into the road...

[turil.livejournal.com]

The future is always a fantasy just waiting to become reality. If you don't plan for a better future, why bother doing anything?

Re: While I think it's lame to shovel snow into the road...

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

This is all well and good, until it's your life hanging in the balance waiting on an emergency vehicle.

Right now, not in some sparkly happy future where no private citizen has a car, and emergency vehicles in the us are equipped like armored vehicles.

Re: While I think it's lame to shovel snow into the road...

[turil.livejournal.com]

"This is all well and good, until it's your life hanging in the balance waiting on an emergency vehicle."

Precisely my point. I'm willing to invest some of my time and energy trying to take care of the people who do want to have emergency vehicles come to their rescue even when the streets aren't all pristine.

And I imagine that the city, with it's lust for big machines, would actually love to have some real ATV type emergency vehicles like they do in places like Vermont.

Re: While I think it's lame to shovel snow into the road...

[zaarwin-devolve.livejournal.com]

And I imagine that the city, with it's lust for big machines, would actually love to have some real ATV type emergency vehicles like they do in places like Vermont.

I'm oh so sure that the people whose cars end up buried in the snow kicked up by said ATV-type vehicles will just shrug their shoulders. (Now, instead of shovelers having space holders, they'll have portable walls!) Same for when the vehicles go flying around corners in neighborhoods with really tight streets, lose control and cause damage.

Vermont may have some ATV-style rescue vehicles but they also have far fewer people spread out over a far larger area than are found in the Boston metro area. They can get away with a lot of things that can't be done around here. Also, some people in VT are in really remote areas that flat-out require such enhanced vehicles. Sorry, but snow doesn't demand the same solution in every case.

When hovercars and hoverboots become ubiquitous, I'll certainly consider leaving Boston's streets untouched. Until then, I'll pay a few extra bucks to the city and state to make sure I can get to the hospital in less than three hours.