# I pit people who do not ice their sidewalks in winter **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 28, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982 "2008-12-28T18:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/41 "2008-12-29T01:06:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Hey, you were the one pitting the rock salt users, implying that we’re cheapskates who wouldn’t shell out an extra two bucks to buy the “non-poisonous” calcium chloride (which appears to be worse, according to vets). If there’s anything I hate, it’s an undeserved, uninformed pitting. I added two lines (three if you count my grouchy “bah!”) to someone else’s pitting, I didn’t start a thread calling for rock salt users to be strung up. Good gravy, you sure get your back up about stupid shit. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/42 "2008-12-29T02:54:16Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > I pit municipalities that don’t clear their own damn sidewalks(and I realize that’s most of them). Ottawa takes responsibility for clearing(and salting) the sidewalks and it works much, much better that way. The city I live in makes the owners of the property do it and my walk to work is terrible for the last 10 minutes. I hear ya’. Of all the places I’ve lived, only one didn’t plow and salt it’s owbn sidewalks, and it sucked in the winter because very few people cleared the walks in front of their houses. It’s so much nice to see a little tractor plowing the sidewalk in front of your house and not having to worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/43 "2008-12-29T03:10:14Z")
Hell, I’d be happy if the city just plowed the sidewalks that are indisputably municipal property. How ridiculous is it to have to climb over a snowbank to get into the police station? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/44 "2008-12-29T03:31:49Z")
> [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](#): > > I added two lines (three if you count my grouchy “bah!”) to someone else’s pitting, I didn’t start a thread calling for rock salt users to be strung up. Good gravy, you sure get your back up about stupid shit. Are you new here? It’s the Pit, it’s mostly about whining about stupid, pointless shit. I thought you were being idiot, so I said so. You think I’m getting “strung up” and you say so. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/45 "2008-12-29T03:33:20Z")
If I were concerned about protecting my dog’s feet from sidewalk salt of unknown composition, I’d just put [dog boots](http://www.dogbootcompany.com/shop/) on her. (We used something similar, on our vet’s advice, to stop Miss Emily from constantly licking her paw and irritating her skin.) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/46 "2008-12-29T03:52:57Z")
Hope you feel better soon, **Kythereia**. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/47 "2008-12-29T04:07:18Z")
I glanced at my jug of ice-melting compound - it says “Pet friendly!” on it. I can assure you I didn’t buy it because of that - I bought it to melt the ice patches that inevitably form. I will be buying more ice-melting compound for the same reason - your dog’s feet are not my concern, I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![Daffyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daffyd/32/8923_2.png) [@Daffyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daffyd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/48 "2008-12-29T04:17:30Z")
Sorry to hear. I can relate. I fell last year in a downtown Toronto park - on a sidewalk that the city doesn’t bother to clear or even salt… They do all the others in the park it seems, but don’t bother with that one… and of course, it’s the one I need to use to get to the dog park… I fell on my hand, and a year later I still can’t wear my wedding ring… I had the foresight to take it off my finger as soon as I fell - my hand swelled up within minutes… But I guess I should look on the bright side - my hand now lets me know when the weather is changing - it starts to hurt. ☹ We called our councillor to complain last year… and got no response. Idiot… I took the dog out for a walk to the dog park today, and saw that they **still** aren’t clearing that sidewalk this year… I’m totally fed up with the way this city is run. We live downtown on a small street, and are always the first people to go out and shovel after it snows. Not that it matters - last year, we realized that although we had cleared our sidewalk, the city plowed snow into **huge** piles on the side of the road… and then the city garbage collectors drove **on top of the snow-piles** and filled what was our clean sidewalk with snow/slush/ice… And because we live downtown, garbage pick up is at 1 am… So it sat all night and hardened into a lumpy mess… and I’m sure people walking by cursed us out for what a bad job **we** did… We called the idiot councillor - no response. This week, after the last few days of snow, the city came along and plowed the street - twice in four hours - and **again** covered our sidewalk with ice/snow/slush… We emailed our councillor - no response… what a surprise - the guy’s an idiot… Thank God I’m outta here in five days… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/49 "2008-12-29T04:23:19Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Yes and no. I dunno about Canuckland, but here in the US, sidewalks are an easement; the public has a right to use them, they are maintained structurally by the government, but the landowner whose property they cross is responsible for snow and ice removal. Wow, they own it, and _you_ have to maintain it? I knew the city claimed ownership the land for the sidewalk, but not the rest. I’ll have to remember this if I ever move somewhere that has sidewalks. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/50 "2008-12-29T04:24:37Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > If I were concerned about protecting my dog’s feet from sidewalk salt of unknown composition, I’d just put [dog boots](http://www.dogbootcompany.com/shop/) on her. > > (We used something similar, on our vet’s advice, to stop Miss Emily from constantly licking her paw and irritating her skin.) I came in here to say that- I’ve never held other people responsible for the comfort of my dogs or their health. Get some boots for them. They’re good in the summer when the pavement is hot, too. As for the non de-icers, I’m with you 100%. I no longer live in the frozen tundra, but I was up visiting a few weeks ago. Of course it poured rain and froze day after day and I was sure I’d bust my ass one one of the parking lots I was in but I managed. I have never been so happy to touch back down in FL in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/51 "2008-12-29T04:45:34Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Wow, they own it, and _you_ have to maintain it? I knew the city claimed ownership the land for the sidewalk, but not the rest. I’ll have to remember this if I ever move somewhere that has sidewalks. You are expected to maintain their boulevards, too. It’s one of the prices you pay for living in the city. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/52 "2008-12-29T04:49:01Z")
> [@Daffyd](#): > > We live downtown on a small street… [T]he city plowed snow into **huge** piles on the side of the road… > > This week, after the last few days of snow, the city came along and plowed the street - twice in four hours… I’m a little jealous, actually. You got your street plowed. Maybe I should pit every city and town in Alberta, because _they don’t plow streets at all_! Well, maybe a few of the main ones will get plowed, but unlike Toronto and other Ontario cities, most roads in Alberta cities are never touched by a plow, much less salt. (Calgary and Edmonton do drop windshield-starring and paint-scratching gravel, though. :rolleyes:) Surprisingly, many Albertans disagree with me that roads–_all_ roads–should be plowed and salted for reasons of safety. Certainly, from what I’ve seen, there are enough pickup-truck yahoos spinning out-of-control donuts on snow-and-gravel-covered residential streets to justify a bare-pavement policy such as exists in southern Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/53 "2008-12-29T05:05:17Z")
**Nikki Tikki Tavi** , have you tried shopping around for dog shoes? Normally I’m against dressing up pets but if you have something over their feet then the salt can’t hurt them. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/54 "2008-12-29T05:17:43Z")
One more opinion about salt de-icers, [this from the city of Chicago.](http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:gXtZhVLRZDwJ:icemeltchicago.com/Calcium-Chloride-Pet-Safety.pdf+pet+ice+calcium+chloride+safety+veterinary+chicago&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&client=firefox-a) Basically they claim little to no risk to pets if products are used anywhere near as intended. The calcium chloride ones, BTW and FWIW, cost more but you can use much less - as a result the actual cost per season is comparable. It works at much lower temperatures too (means it dissolves even when very cold leaving little chance for a pellet to stay on the surface to get into Fido’s paw pads. Less bad for the plants too. None of my dogs have ever had a problem from salt … but then I rarely use the stuff. Mostly shoveling the snow is enough. Ice is only a problem when we get the thaws followed by quick deep freezes or the freezing rains. I hate those. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/55 "2008-12-29T05:25:56Z")
look I’m sorry, we dont OWN snow shovels in Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/56 "2008-12-29T05:55:08Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I hear ya’. Of all the places I’ve lived, only one didn’t plow and salt it’s owbn sidewalks, and it sucked in the winter because very few people cleared the walks in front of their houses. It’s so much nice to see a little tractor plowing the sidewalk in front of your house and not having to worry about it. Hey we had a pitting last year about those sidewalk panzers and the risk to life and limb. Just sayin Declan ---
**Author:** ![Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/57 "2008-12-29T14:14:12Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > **Nikki Tikki Tavi** , have you tried shopping around for dog shoes? Normally I’m against dressing up pets but if you have something over their feet then the salt can’t hurt them. I did look at some but decided to order a wax called Musher’s Secret instead. It’s supposed to prevent the buildup of ice and snow on the fur between their pads and also forms a barrier against irritants. Seems like it will be easier to deal with than booties, and I’ll use it in the summer too when the pavement’s hot. Thank you for the suggestion 🙂 (And **Scarlett67** as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3da27b/32.png) [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982/58 "2008-12-29T14:19:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Are you new here? I’m not, actually. I’ve been around since the AOL days, though mostly lurking. > [@](#): > > It’s the Pit, it’s mostly about whining about stupid, pointless shit. Exactly, which is why I didn’t come prepared with fucking chemical data sheets when I posted a two line whine about stupid, pointless shit. > [@](#): > > I thought you were being idiot, so I said so. You think I’m getting “strung up” and you say so. Well good, I’m glad we’ve both had our say. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-people-who-do-not-ice-their-sidewalks-in-winter/478982.md?page=2)