Jonathan

Sun, Mar 7, 2010 : 3:15 p.m.

There really is no excuse for not clearing ALL of one's public walks. If you can't do it yourself hire someone. If you can't afford to hire someone maybe try baking your neighbor some cookies. It's the occupant's responsibility to clear the walks with 24 hours of a snow fall of 1" or more. THAT"S THE LAW. If you cannot met your responsibilities as a home owner or renter you have no right to expect to be exempt from this basic community standard. Lazy hippies!

KJMClark

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 10:56 p.m.

...And on the very related topic of climate change, if you read the reports, while we're supposed to have increasing winter temperatures, we're also supposed to have increased precipitation, particularly in winter. As long as the temperatures are cold enough for that precipitation to fall as snow instead of rain, that's a recipe for greater snowfall. On page 120 of the report "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States" (available here: http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/download-the-report), "Precipitation is projected to increase in winter and spring, and to become more intense throughout the year." We really should expect heavier snowfall than normal for the near future. Some years will turn out to be normal or lighter snowfall (this year looked that way until February set a new record.) However many of those years will probably look more like last year's record.

KJMClark

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 10:46 p.m.

If you can't get out and shovel your sidewalk yourself, hire someone to do it. If you both can't physically do it yourself or afford to pay a neighborhood kid $10 to do it, ask your neighbors, at your church, or ask the city for help. If it's your house, presumably you can afford to pay someone to clear it for you more than you can afford the ticket for not clearing it, or the liability if someone breaks their ankle and decides (correctly) to sue you. If you rent, it's your landlord's responsibility. One year I put a tape recorder in my jacket pocket and biked down sidewalks dictating addresses that weren't cleared. I tried to report the sidewalks to community standards and they seemed to think it was just a joke. If you don't like the poor sidewalk snow-clearing enforcement, contact your council members. Maybe they can get some enforcement.

Barb

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 5:43 p.m.

I love the people who shout, "SUE!" when it comes to slipping on ice and snow. Banana's story is also good to show that that shouldn't be the first thing we think of to do anyway. Just shovel. And if you know your neighbor is elderly or can't do it for some reason, do theirs too. They might give you cookies (speaking from personal experience)! :)

bananas

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 3:29 p.m.

@ LAEL The "open & obvious" rule makes it highly unlikely that I could have successfully sued. The $8/hr job I had then as a young single woman trying to pay her bills made it seem like more trouble than it was worth anyway - I sure as heck didn't have a camera to take pictures with or have a friendly lawyer to help me.. I worked out a payment plan with the hospital and I paid it off. Regardless, my point in telling that story wasn't 'oh, poor me', rather it was 'shovel your sidewalks people!! It does matter!' and it is aimed at healthy people, college kids/renters who are too self-absorbed to care. And I agree - it would be great if more people helped out with neighbors who need it because there are certainly people who cannot shovel their walks for whatever reason..

Woman in Ypsilanti

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 3:22 p.m.

Macabre Sunset - What do we do with people too lazy to scoop poop? Difficult question. I just ignore it if it is my lawn. But I have heard of people scooping it up and putting it onto the offender's porch. I guess that is something one could do with snow when a neighbor doesn't shovel. Go over there and shovel it into their driveway or the walk to their house. *shrug* It seems like a good way to both clear the walk and send a message without resorting to getting the authorities involved which would mean a very expensive ticket.

LAEL

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 2:20 p.m.

Some people might be lazy, but others might simply be incapable of doing the work. Maybe if neighbors reached out to each other, asking perhaps if someone needed assistance clearing their sidewalks (spoken with real concern for the disabled, and with a raised eyebrow for the abled), more sidewalks would get cleared. @bananas - you should have taken some pictures and gotten a lawyer. This kind of thing can be settled with the homeowner's insurance company without ever going to court. Your medical bills and the lawyer's fees would have been covered plus some extra for your troubles.

Macabre Sunset

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 1:24 p.m.

Then what do we do with people too lazy to pick up their own dog poop? Neighbors seem awfully hostile. Can you blame the rest of us for suburban sprawl?

Woman in Ypsilanti

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 1:11 p.m.

Ok, I'll admit it. I let my dog poop in the yards of people who haven't shoveled. I have to slow down to navigate over the icy walk and the dog sees that as a signal to stop and poop. And I don't clean it up either! But I wouldn't snitch on anyone. I would sue them if I happened to fall and injure myself.

Griffen

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 12:34 p.m.

Just an FYI, Mack School (bordering along Miller and Brooks) remained unshoveled for the duration of the last big snow storm that dumped over a foot of snow! I'm just saying, before we blame each other, let's blame AAPS for setting a bad example and not complying with the AA ordinances meant to protect our kids walking to and from school!

bananas

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 12:25 p.m.

I will preface this by saying I am L-A-Z-Y. I also don't care if people mow their lawns or have pink flamingos or any other busy-body-neighbor-NIMBY-'ohnomypropertyvalue!' stuff. My yard is a ridiculous mess. However, shoveling my sidewalk is one thing I do (quite nearly) always in a timely manner. There are a lot of pedestrians in this town - why should my laziness override their need to get to work safely and without extra hassle? I am a sometimes-walker myself. One January, several years ago, I was walking along Spring street, slipped on some snow-covered ice (clearly built up throughout the winter)and broke my wrist. I was uninsured at the time and spent hundreds of dollars on medical bills. To this day, I think about sending a nasty note to the owner of that home. Now, when I walk my dog through the neighborhood I find myself taking mental notes about which sidewalks are consistently un-shoveled. I am always tempted to write nasty notes to those people too. I figure everyone gets a pass once or twice a season, especially when we've had a lot of snow, like this year. Elderly or otherwise physically-unable folks? I have some sympathy although I think arrangements should be made. But healthy people who consistently neglect this responsibility? A bunch of jerks AFAIC. They deserve to be fined, or at least shamed with a big sign in their yard or something. I'm not the neighborhood snitch in practice, just in my own mind. But one of these days, when I'm a grumpy old lady, I may become that snitch. So be forewarned. Bwahahaha

Rumpleshirtskin

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 12:24 p.m.

On a side note, I received a note from my USPS delivery person. Reminding me that I need to shovel a 30' path infront of my mailbox ( in street). This was few weeks ago when we received all that snow. A week later, a snow plow finally showed up ( 1st time this year.) showering sparks all over my street because most of the snow melted.

pooh bear

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 11:40 a.m.

A big problem is that landlords ask their student tenants to shovel the walks. Your wife's area is in such a student neighborhood and it's hit or miss if the walks get shoveled or not. I did find out from a recent experience that the landlord is the party that is liable if there is a slip and fall and someone is injured. As an owner of a student rental, I feel it a necessity to pay a service to do our sidewalks. I wish more landlords felt the same.

Roger

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 11:36 a.m.

I'm fairly fortunate to have good, kind, and considerate neighbors for the past 9 years. We compete to get out and clean the driveways and sidewalks. It has been fun and a friendly competition, but the folks who walk our street hopefully are the beneficiaries. I have never met most of them and don't require their thanks to do the job. Instead of having a neighborhood snitch sow dissension, why not get out and help your neighbors?

grye

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 11:09 a.m.

Shoveling your sidewalk shows a concern about being a good citizen and providing for the common good in the community. However, there are many in the city that have issues with ownership of the sidewalk and requirement by city law for homeowners adjacent to the sidewalk to remove snow and ice from the sidewalk. Most sidewalks in the city are owned by the city to include those in neighborhoods. The city took ownership as part of the right-of-way declaration. Property owners usually own from the inside of the sidewalk to the back of the property. The issue at hand is if the city owns the sidewalk, how can they constitutionally require the adjacent homeowner be legally responsible for snow removal (without talking about the requirement of repairs and replacement of damaged sidewalks). I'm not saying homeowners shouldn't remove the snow. I not only remove my snow, I shovel the adjacent property sidewalks too. In fact, the snow removal on the sidewalks is much better than the what city accomplishes on my street. Maybe the city should look at removing fines and people would take the good citizen approach to the issue. If not, grab a shovel and do it for them. The exercise is excellent and probably needed.

EMS

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 11:04 a.m.

How about hiring someone to do snow removal when you aren't able to? That's what I do. I'm not in the best of financial shape but I see that my walks and driveway are cleared. I can't do the shoveling myself but I see that it is done. My house is a very modest small home in AA, it's not a McMansion and I'm not a millionaire.

Woman in Ypsilanti

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 10:57 a.m.

I actually think that the best solution would be to increase taxes and then have the city clear the sidewalks. They can probably do it much more efficiently than having each property owner hire someone to do it. But most importantly, it is a way to insure that all of the walks get cleared, even those walks in front of vacant houses or houses belonging to someone who is sick. As for neighborhood snitches. It is so true that every neighborhood has one. The main problem I have with the snitch in my neighborhood is that they get things wrong. I have had my car reported (because I am frugal and drive an old car) as a junker. I had complaints about my lawn which I believe were actually complaints about another lawn on my street but our snitch is too stupid to get house numbers correct apparently. And yes, I have had complaints about my perfectly shoveled walk (although that might not have been a snitch and might have just been the city. It was a big brouhaha last winter in Ypsilanti). I keep hoping that our neighborhood snitch will just move. I would rather live in a neighborhood with unshoveled walks, long grass, and junky cars than to live around someone who is so uptight they feel they have to complain all of the time of everything isnt exactly to their liking.

Macabre Sunset

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 10:45 a.m.

To be fair, the original story started the commenting about global warming. So I thought it might be fun to engage on that - you know, Michigan lecturer, so obviously he's a believer. But we've been warned about going off on tangents. How do we know people are too lazy to shovel, anyway? Why not, instead of making assumptions about someone's character (like I do about Michigan lecturers and their views on political topics like global warming), help them out with your own shovel? You build community by interacting with people, not by sitting next to your phone and reporting them to the police. I was injured playing softball last fall. It wasn't serious, but I couldn't move one arm much for about three weeks. If it had happened during the winter, I wouldn't have been able to use a shovel. So my walk wouldn't have gotten done. It saddens me that instead of offering to help out, I have neighbors who might have called the police and thought of me as lazy. And, of course, it's a little embarrassing to walk up to a neighbor unsolicited and start whining about my arm, so I'm going to keep quiet about it.

Freemind42

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 8:51 a.m.

Macrabe, Global Warming? Were you seriously about to take a letter to editor about people being too lazy to shovel (which is true, i have a few houses i walk past every day that didn't shovel once this year) and try to use it as a platform to say global warming isn't true? wow. it snows in Michigan during the winter, global warming must not be true.

Sandy Castle

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 8:45 a.m.

I have to laugh at some of these comments. @Youwhine, "And if it's cold enough to have snow on the ground you shouldn't be walking around with your infant in a backpack." Hilarious! So if you have young children here in Michigan, you have to stay inside for at least 4 months of the year? Or is that only if you're not smart enough to know how to dress your children to outside in the cold? @The Picker, "Every neighborhood has a snitch! Have you met yours?" Don't you love how this one throws blame from the irresponsible, inconsiderate rule breakers to the people who follow the rules? Thank you for the belly laugh to get my day started. Enjoy the sunshine, everyone!

Jeremy Hallum

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 8:41 a.m.

I run 5-6 days a week on the streets of Ann Arbor, and I think this year has been better than average for clear sidewalks. As an earlier poster noted, most of the non-cleared housing are houses with For Sale signs in front of them. I think it's been helpful that there haven't been the days and days of an inch here and an inch there, rather much of the snow has come in bunches, making snow removal less of a hassle.

The Picker

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 8:16 a.m.

Every neighborhood has a snitch! Have you met yours?

SuperFreckleFace

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 7:30 a.m.

At least the unshoveled sidewalks in my neighborhood are in front of fully abled, fully occupied lazy people's houses. They'll just wait until it melts, I guess. After a week I have no hesitation calling the city.

Wystan Stevens

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 7:01 a.m.

You are certainly right about the possibility of yet another great dump of snow before we see winter's end. Remember the St. Patrick's Day Blizzard of 1965? There was so much white stuff on the ground afterward that the city came to a muffled halt. Rowdy campus sophomores improved the shining moment by packing the Engineering Arch [now West Hall] with snow, wooden benches, trash cans, anything portable -- completely blocking both ends. It was days before anyone could get through, and even then they had to climb over a snow hill and through a narrow, icy crevasse to enter the tunnel and/or to exit therefrom. (After that, the wooden benches at that end of the campus were replaced with immovable concrete ones.)

racerx

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 5:21 a.m.

So, why not just call the sidewalk hot line instead of this dribble here? To much time on your hands. Next time, walk in the street, bet those are cleared and safer too, heck, bicyclist ride in the street all the time with the claim that it's safer than the sidewalks. Even without snow.

Macabre Sunset

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 1:19 a.m.

Perhaps it's an opportunity for you to escort a mother and a covey of small children. You could clear her way to school with your shovel all by yourself if the sidewalks aren't cleaned to your satisfaction. I'd discuss the global warming aspect, but one of the erstwhile editors here claims it's not on topic, so it must be banished from all commentary.

YouWhine

Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 12:51 a.m.

Your wife pointed out that this year seems worse than years past. Did you stop to consider that more properties are in foreclosure, are bank owned, or are unoccupied this year than in recent history? If nobody can afford to live there, nobody is going to shovel the walk. And if it's cold enough to have snow on the ground you shouldn't be walking around with your infant in a backpack. And 'robust' HAS to be the most over/improperly used word of the year.