The time has come for the city of Melrose to pass an ordinance requiring property owners to clear the sidewalks in front of their property within a reasonable time after a storm, perhaps 24 hours. We are a walking town we don't bus our kids to school.The sidewalks need to be cleared. I understand that there are elderly residents that need help but I have seen that often they will clear the driveway or hire some to do it and just leave the sidewalk uncleared. this is unacceptable. A reasonable policy would be to require clearance 24 hours after a storm, a warning for a first offense each winter and a fine for subsequent violations.
Why don't you organize a group of able bodied people who will volunteer to assist the elderly, or people who are sick, who don't have enough money to hire someone to clear their 2 feet of snow off the sidewalk? Do you really think it's better to penalize them?
I think our schools already do that the students get community service hours for the work. Some of the people not clearing side walks are just plain lazy, shame on them.
There is an old saying which seems appropriate here..."You can bring a horse to the water trough, but you can't force it to drink"! You can make available free help or cheap help just as the Mayor has done on the city website, but many people still may not take advantage of it, either out of ignorance in the seriousness of the situation or just plain "don't care"attitude. Fining them is an appropriate way to get their attention to the problem.
The blowhards are pretending to be informed again, when in fact their ignorance resonates as usual. There is an ordinance in Melrose requiring residents to clear their sidewalks after a storm.
However, its incredibly difficult to in force. It exists to try to embarrass able bodied people, or people with means to pay someone to remove the snow.
Obviously, no rational society can fine the disabled, elderly, or those financially unable to clear their sidewalks. On my street the neighbors take care of the elderly and run the snow blowers down the sidewalks and walkways...which should be happening all over the City.
The real purpose here is to just point out, again, that while MFD pretends he is an intelligent, educated individual on many subjects, the reality is he is just another boob whose incorrect opinions and statements can be posted on blog sites.
I'll bet even a boob knows the difference between "in force" and "enforce".
Indeed. And I would remind "MFD and Bozo brigade clueless as usual" that sidewalks are city property. The city used to have sidewalk plows that did that - just one more service that has disappeared over the years. What's next? Ordering residents to shovel out the city parking lots under penalty of death? It's the city's responsibility to clear snow from city property, not mine, even though I do it to keep some poor slob from falling on his a$$ or some school kid from getting flattened by a car.
True, find one city on the Northeast where the municipality clears every sidewalk...that's a load of BS. People have historically cleared their sidewalks and assisted neighbors in need out of a sense of personal responsibility and community...none of which is ever apparent by the whiners on Melrose Messages.
So, what? Are you too young to remember the little tracked sidewalk plows that used to plow sidewalks in town? Or are you just slinging your own brand of selective BS? Did you not read where I said I do clear mine - not because it's my responsibilty, but because of concern for the safety of my neighbors and their kids? That's why there's no sidewalk ordinance in Melrose - because it's not my responsibilty to clear city property. Passing such an ordinance, the point of the original post, by the way, would make it my responsibility, and I object to that. Let's put the sidewalk plows back out instead.
If you people did something other then complain.. for example; look on the city website, you will see that there are four sidewalk routes (and 4 sidewalk plows) that the city of Melrose is responsible for. These routes are school routes and they're done every time Melrose has accumulating snow. I don't live on one.. but do walk on them and they are safe to walk on. I shovel my own property as does my neighbors. We all help each other out. We are a neighborhood/community. Stop being lazy people. I can only imagine how much it would cost the city to have to get multiple more machines and staff to run these machines... Ridicules. Get out and do your own sidewalk. Pitch in and help each other. The city can only do so much.