Shovel your damn sidewalks. It's the LAW.

[LisaM]

I had a conversation about this yesterday with a friend - she has shovelled her walk, but she didn't think it's the law to do so.

I looked it up. Guess what? It IS the law. You can be fined $250 for the first offense, and more later.


I called the Mayor's office and asked why they weren't enforcing it. The guy there said, "oh, but there'd be a backlash!" I told him he was getting the backlash now from NOT enforcing it.

Please call Greg Nickels' office and ask why they don't enforce it. Demand that they do. I can't even walk my dogs down the street in bad weather because people can't be bothered to shovel their f***ing walks.



"Property owners and occupants, whether business or residential, are responsible for removing snow and ice from sidewalks that abut their properties," Department of Transportation spokesman Rick Sheridan said. "The penalty for non-compliance is $250 for the first citation and up to $500 for subsequent citations."
The law is spelled out in section 15.48.010 of the Seattle Municipal Code:
It is the responsibility of the owner or occupant of private property to remove snow and ice on the sidewalks abutting his or her property in a timely manner and, if practical, prevent its becoming or remaining in an icy, ridged, uneven or humped condition or in a condition which is potentially hazardous to users of the public sidewalks."

[LisaM]

1. PS - here's the phone number

684-4000.

Maybe you'll get the guy I talked to who said that if someone fell and hurt themselves in front of a house, I should be glad, because they can sue the homeowner.

What about just being able to walk down the street?

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

2. But, what if the home owners

are old ,too old to shovel,or what if they cannot afford a snow shovel because those tax's are so high? I mean think about it ,you know they can't afford a Wa. State I.D. card to show as proof that you are who you say you are at the polls right?I mean come off it, it's all about holding on to the house, bear ly skimming by after tax's. That was your stand wasn't it? Do you think old people give a hoot about your dog?

Oh well Lisa M. voting day is done, I guess ya just have no further use of them,do ya?

I know it's a bit extreme Lisa M. ,but with all the snow we don't get, I guess people were taken by surprise. As they say in New York, go tell it like you see it, but don't be surprised if nobody listens !

What I'm really saying is, why not lighten up just a bit, chill a little !

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

3. Do you know,

that many house holds in Seattle have no snow shovels? Do you know why?
You know, -, there was not a snow shovel to be found in the stores ? You know,-, guess what else? You know,-,Snow shovels and rock salt sold out in one day. You know,-, Home Depot,And Ah,hh, you know,-, Lowe's Ah,hh, True Value,And ah'hh Ace ,you know,-, even Fred Myer's. You know ,-, Lowe's from my experience in that matter special ordered snow shovels and rock salt.You know, they ahh,-, Had it delivered on the same truck, the ah'hh-, same day. You know,-, they were getting $ 30.00 to $50 dollars for those shovels. You know,-,I mean do you know how much those shovels sell for as a rule?

Don't you know, $12 to $19.99. $19.99 on the high end. You know what I mean, you know?
You know, -, how it is don't you? You know, - living in a city that does not see very much snow. Don't you know? You know,-, $ 50.00 ,you know ,-,I mean like fifty bucks for a snow shovel-hummmm !!!! You know ,-, that's a big dent in the limited income ,you know? The rock salt went up too, you know?

You know,-, talk about no respect, you know?

[LisaM]

4. Of course I don't think old and/or infirm people should be out there shovelling

Generally, a neighbor will pitch in in those instances. My parents have a younger neighbor who comes and snow blows their driveway for them on a regular basis.

But I'm not just talking about houses - what about all these new condos, so beloved by Greg Nickels? Their walks weren't shovelled either. Who doesn't have some kind of a shovel? We have two, and one is even a snow shovel (and we don't have sidewalks in front out our house).

Every time it snows people make the same argument - they were unprepared. I just don't think the city has made any attempt to let people know that it's their responsibility - though they were quick enough to tell people to go out and clean the city's storm drains to prevent flooding (I don't have a problem with that, but it goes to show that they can get information out if needed).

However, aside from mitigating factors such as age, disability, not being able to get a shovel once it started snowing, not being able to AFFORD a shovel - what really gets me is that people just don't seem to care. I feel as if I'm fighting a one-woman battle. OK, you were unprepared this time. So when the hardware stores get shovels back in, go buy one if you can afford one. And shovel your walks next time. Sadly, I don't think anyone will.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

5. I know, it does seem odd.

I did notice the supermarkets and the departments stores that have open parking lots ,home depot and lowe's too, Gas stations are also guilty of doing little or nothing to clear out the parking lots.

I had to get around in the snow, I have a customer base to maintain. I had to deal with flooding basements, leaks in roof's ,frozen water lines ,on and on. Very many people did not drive at all, or go out. That goes twice if you live on hills. I even did some grocery shopping for a few ,as a courtesy. It's not uncomon for me to run across a twenty five or thirty year old snow shovel in a home owners garage of somewhere on the premises that really isn't much good for anything anymore. They know they got one somewhere's, ! Than they try to recall when's the last time they saw it. Even more funny, when they try to recall the last time that snow shovel was used !

My point is, shoveling snow off the sidewalks can be and is the least of many peoples worries and problems ,when snow hits the way it did.
Imagine having to be pushed out of a gas station to be able to get back in traffic/ ! But that's the reality of it.

The city worker that told you to sue the home owner over the [phone,) needs his ass kicked.If he ever really worked a day in his life, you know.!

[LisaM]

6. I know, isn't that the stupidest thing?

Why not just fall down on purpose? Then everyone could have a laugh and the city wouldn't have to do its job. I know I sounded pissed yesterday, but if the city would just inform people, I think we'd see a huge difference.

Our QFC did a crappy job - one side of the parking lot was fine, the other side was a disaster and people were almost falling down.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

7. Happy New Year To You Lisa M. !

And with some luck ,maybe we have seen our share of snow for one year.
We have yet to find out how much damage was done to the sewer system because of pure sand. But, that's a engineering problem . Politicians and Ideas!

By the way, the supermarket response to the parking lot thing is, every store has a budget to operate within, snow clearing may not fit in!

I guess that means they operate by the standard policy, you enter at your own risk! You Know !

[LisaM]

8. And yet they had the budget to have a guy drive a leaf blower in circles

for half an hour a few weeks ago, when there were no leaves to be seen. I was sitting in a parked car and I thought he was going to hit me. He was gabbing on the phone and driving very fast in huge reckless swoops. I would have gone in and complained but I didn't want him to run me over.

I suspect there just wasn't anyone to get.

Happy New Year to you too, my friend.

[Lagomorph]

9. I hear NYC is tough on this...

With real property comes responsibility and obligations, but there are solutions. There are bunches of kids out there clamoring for spending money. You'd think homeowners would have to chase them away from the door during snowstorms.

[LisaM]

10. Seattle is the worst I've seen for homeowners taking responsibility for their sidewalks

Same thing happens in the fall, when leaves pile up and it rains. It gets slippery. I don't know if you go running at all, but I've tried running on Roosevelt Way in the fall and it can be very challenging trying to keep my footing. I don't know if they are uninformed (likely, according to what I heard from the mayor's office), if they don't care, or both!

[demigoddess]

11. not just seattle, I'm in the suburbs and people here think that anything they throw

out on the sidewalk or into the street is the city's responsibility, including their garbage can overflow and their used christmas trees. And I am amazed at the number of cars, boats etc parked right out on the street with things stored under and around them. One neighbor I had even wanted to store his junkyard type junk in my yard when he ran out of room in his yard!!!!