Snow policy updates

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Just received a Resistat email with 3 updates to the Somerville snow policy:

-Timelines: The timelines for removing snow have changed. If snow stops falling during the night (after sunset), you must shovel your sidewalk by 10 a.m. If snow stops falling during the day (after sunrise), you must shovel your sidewalk by 10 p.m.

-Fines: Fines for not removing snow have doubled. The first offense will cost you $50, the second offense is $100, and the third and subsequent offenses are $200.

-"Clean and lien:" If you don't shovel your sidewalk after three days or more, the City can clear the snow from around your property and charge you for it.

Comments

[aroraborealis.livejournal.com]

Awesome!!

Thanks for sharing!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Also, there's some new snow policy going on, per the email update: "First, everyone is encouraged to learn the "Please Don't Snow Dance," with special moves and costumes based on a former Mayor's Fitness Challenge routine."

The "by 10 am or pm" seems a much simpler metric than what was in place before.

Hooray for the 'clean and lien'! There's an empty house near me that never gets shoveled and it annoys me.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Here's hoping they finally go after the two worst offenders on heavily travelled College Ave: the bible Baptist church @ Morrison, and the UCC church.

[ceo]

They forgot to mention that if you don't get your sidewalk shoveled in time, they'll not only fine you, they'll stick a big red placard on your house so everyone can see what a deadbeat you are.

They also have a program to connect elderly and disabled residents with enterprising teenagers.

[dcltdw]

They also have a program to connect elderly and disabled residents with enterprising teenagers.

That's very cool. I was wondering about people who might need assistance.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I wish we could do this in Medford.

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

The cynic in me thinks this is mostly done for further Somerville "revenue enhancement".

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

If it is, I don't see anything wrong with that. Revenue generators that improve behavior while simultaneously generating money for city services seem like the best revenue generators there are. And for sure enforcement has been lax historically as most elderly, pregnant or disabled people can attest to.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

That, plus the youth shoveling program and the Council on Aging backstopping things for people who might truly not be able to shovel, = A+++ idea as far as I'm concerned. I sure will like it if I can walk all the way down to an intersection and cross the street without having to back up four houses to find a curb cut...

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[somervilleguy.livejournal.com]

This will still be subject to spotty enforcement. The biggest issue I had with neighbors not shoveling was getting the city to do something about it. After calling a couple of years ago about some chronic non shoveled walks the person at 311 finally said "we do the best we can and that they were really busy"!

Just last week there was a car parked in front of hydrant on my street for 8 days and it received only one ticket, in many other cities the car would have been towed after a day or two maybe the same day. It's not just the rules you have it's how they are enforced and around here it's uneven at best.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

Yup. How can they say they are really busy? The revenue from the ticket would pay for someone to go and look for offenses.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

It's hard to have enough people on staff for the few days when you need them, especially because it appears only a certain category of individuals are allowed to issue tickets. Someone here suggested using ticket enforcement officers. Would be a better way to manage.

Fire Department Apparatus

[silveraeroguy.livejournal.com]

If any resident is seriously concerned about any car(s) blocking hydrants, streets, or intersections, the best piece of advice I was given, regarding non-compliance of rules/laws not being enforced, is to call the local fire department. Believe that they want to get to an emergency as quickly as possible and "may" have a little more clout with other city departments to see the offense gets removed in a very timely manner.

311 is good for lots of things but the more you know...

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

When we go out of town, we ask our neighbors to watch our sidewalks and clear if needed. But we have nice neighbors, so maybe this isn't an option for everyone.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Is that what you do when you're not home? When we go away, we make sure we have someone to shovel because leaving snow on the sidewalk is a dick move. We just moved over the line to Cambridge, but I'm still glad Somerville is doing this. We had some neighbors by our old place who were just terrible about shoveling. There were also several businesses who didn't seem to GAF.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I didn't actually expect you were. :)

But I'm not sure why the city should make any concessions under those circumstances. I could see if, for example, someone were unexpectedly hospitalized or something (though man, I would hope a neighbor or friend would just step in!) They certainly don't care if you're away when it comes to street cleaning.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Ok.

[siderea]

If you don't shovel your sidewalk after three days or more, the City can clear the snow from around your property and charge you for it.

...how much, do you happen to know?

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Dunno. I got the impression from the email that it's whatever the City is charged by the people they hire to clear the snow, so it probably varies by how much time it takes to clear it.