Thursday, December 06, 2007

City Threatens; Scofflaws Yawn



Property owners must shovel snow from sidewalks adjacent to their properties 24 hours after a storm or suffer the consequences!

Or so proclaimed the City of Plattsburgh with a new law that would bill property owners on their tax bills for snow removal. And while most have been good neighbors, some just still shrug it off as a boring detail.





The intersection of Miller and Elm streets. These shots are almost identical to the ones I took last winter. Sidewalks remained unshoveled and pedestrians, afraid to walk in the street, have tamped down the snow. The trouble with such condensed snow is that it can form an icy glaze on top, resulting in slip and trip. A person slips, then takes a trip to the ER.




And what about this spot between the billboard and the railroad tracks on Miller Street? Who’s responsible for clearing this stretch off? The railroad company? The billboard owner? God?




And I hope they nail the scofflaw who didn’t clean up this sidewalk on Miller Street behind the Press-Republican newspaper building. Some time ago I checked into who is responsible for maintaining this section. The responsible party? No, not the Press-Republican.

It’s the City of Plattsburgh.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder who's in charge of enforcing this law? Is there a number to call to report an unshoveled sidewalk? Do Dept. of Public Works' employees troll the streets looking for snowy sidewalks? And as you pointed out, what about all those areas where it's unclear exactly who ought to clear the way ? The article I read didn't really get into specifics...

-- JT

Luke T. Bush said...

jt:

If anyone wants action in their neighborhood regarding uncleared sidewalks, here's the contact info:

Mayor's Office
Phone: 563-7701
Donald Kasprzak, Mayor
Email: mayor@cityofplattsburgh.com

Public Works
Mike Brodi, Superintendent of Public Works & Recreation
Phone: 563-6841
Email: dpwcity@charterinternet.com

With previous winters I got quick responses using the two email addresses.

Luke