I remember as a kid in an apartment complex getting yelled at for walking through the grass in front of someone’s apartment.
It seemed so bizarre to me that they should even care, much less think they have special rights to the spot of grass.
But that’s how they felt, and I think it was just a bit of an extreme example of what really is a prevailing attitude, at least under-the-cover if not always explicit: The stuff around my house is my land. You’re here only by courtesy.
Yeah but, it was an apartment. It wasn’t like they had anything to do with the manicuring of the “lawn” or anything.
I was just using it as an illustration–it’s the time I first became consciously aware of a “this is my land” attitude. I think maybe on a subconscious level, in some regions, this attitude extends to the sidewalk as well, making it less likely someone will think “well of course I should shovel my walk in case others want to use it.”
I was totally just kidding when I said “I don’t know what part of Texas you’re from” and meant it as a side jab at Texas. Your description of the Git off my property! mentality struck me as the kind that I associate with stereotypical Texans. I was partially expecting you to insert the rolleyes emoticon, and inform me that you’re from SE Michigan or something.
Everywhere I’ve lived, the sidewalks were essentially a permanent easement–they were on your property, you had to maintain them, but the public was expressly legally allowed to utilize them (and generally, in return, the municipality maintained them in places where it was expedient to have them).
No kidding. When Tom Scud and I were digging out our car on Saturday, we saw the poor mail carrier trying to drag his cart up and down the icy hills left by the people who hadn’t shoveled their walks or had shoveled a path 8" wide or something. Want to know why mail delivery is slow in bad weather? That’s one damn fine reason right there. I bet the poor guy was really sore at the end of his shift.
So yeah believe it or not I had to think for a few seconds to understand what you are talking about here. To me, a mail carrier drives around in a mail truck and pulls up to mailboxes. A mail carrier walking on sidewalks? Why they heck would they do that?
Now of course I know why they would do that. I’m just saying it took a conscious thought process on my part to understand/remind-myself why that would ever happen.
More data hopefully showing why some ignorance about sidewalk shoveling, at least for the first snowy season, may be understandable in some people.
With 2’ of snow, the mailboxes might even be covered by drifts if they were the kind that are by the edge of the road (on county roads, at the end of long driveways, etc.) And around here, the plows have left huge mountains of snow on street corners - we had to climb over some that were probably 4’ high on the way to the train last week.
Fine: You literally *hadn’t *conceived of it. Happy?
It’s not that I assumed that you didn’t like walkability so much as you were unaware that it existed. Your posts weren’t “my personal neighborhood isn’t walkable” but rather “any neighborhood with private residences has no use for sidewalks.”
Maybe they were responsible for the landscaping. Sometimes the person who keeps up the property lives in the building. Hell, sometimes the *owner *lives in the building.
Ignorance is often understandable. That doesn’t make it acceptable.
I live in the south with no sidewalks, so I’m not understanding the venom.
Were I to live in snow country with sidewalks, I’m the kind of guy who would clear mine and the neighbor’s.
If I wanted to.
I understand there are laws/regulations requiring you to, but how in the hell is that constitutional?
I have to buy a snowblower? A shovel? It’s 8 degrees out, and 4 feet of snow. I’m not walking anywhere.
I have to endanger my health just because you want to walk your dog?
Fuck that shit.
Walk in the street. If your taxes paid to clear the street, they damn well should pay to clear The City’s Sidewalk.
There are plenty of people who are unable to get out and move 3 tons of snow. What do you do about them? Fine them?
I’m not being obtuse. I genuinely don’t see how a gov’t entity can force me to clean their property.
Buy whatever you like. Clear the snow with a blow-dryer and an extension cord if you want to. Or hire someone to do it, since apparently otherwise your health will be endangered.
As for “why?” maybe you should try reading the thread.
It’s because pretty typically it’s considered your property, HOWEVER, there is a permanent easement allowing the city to build a sidewalk there. In exchange for them building it and maintaining/replacing the concrete itself, you are required to perform basic day-to-day clearing and maintenance with regard to snowfall etc.
Why would it be any less constitutional than laws requiring you to dispose of your household’s sewage in a safe and responsible manner? Sure, technically, you’re getting rid of it on your own property if you just pump it into the ground beneath your house, but just as that affects neighboring property owners, so does sidewalk maintenance.
If only there were a 200-post thread on this very subject, where people patiently and repeatedly explained why clearing snow from public walkways you’re responsible for is important.
Yes you are. Oh, I’m sorry, do you prefer the term “differently abled”? “Mentally challenged”? “Slow to develop”?
