Brian Robinson OR Carol Goter Robinson OR Bill Robinson
2004-02-13 08:21:36 UTC
A sidewalk clearance law was strictly tailored to benefit... children!
-- according to its author, Phil Andrews, the most liberal member
of the Montgomery County (MD) Council.
Furthermore according to the article, there are no plans to enforce it
-- as the county has its hands full helping motorists. The law
is intended primarily to send a message, according to Andrews.
The message? According to Andrews and other suburban policy makers:
Sidewalks are for children (and the indigent)!!
Anyone needing further proof of how deep this prejudice goes in the
suburban population may visit Chevy Chase MD, an affluent "liberal"
bastion where sidewalks are designed explicitly for the help. They
begin, and end, at bus stops.
The official line is much more progressive:
In rich, liberal Montgomery County, sidewalks are FOR THE CHILDREN!
Remember this next time local DC-area environmentalists advocate
transit in some other jurisdiction, say, Texas or even Baltimore.
------ See Article below. --BER
Clear Sailing For Pedestrians
Few Complain of Difficulties After Snowstorm
By Meredith Carlson Daly
Special to the Washington Post
Thursday, February 5, 2004; Page GZ12
A county law requiring property owners to shovel their sidewalks
is working with few complaints, creating clearer paths, county
officials said.
The 2001 Pedestrian Winter Safety Act, intended to make sure
sidewalks were cleared for children walking to and from school,
has been effective,
said council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg), the chief
sponsor of the law.
"It was clearly necessary to have a law because in many places it was
not being done," Andrews said. "We have tens of thousands of children
that have to walk to school. If sidewalks aren't cleared,
it stays icy a long time."
Since last week's snowstorm, the county's highway maintenance office
has fielded less than a dozen complaints from residents about
impassable sidewalks, said John J. DiGiovanni, manager of highway
maintenance for the county.
Some of those complaints have been about sidewalks along busy state
byways, such as Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road; others concern
residential neighborhoods, he said.
His response has been to tell residents about the need for clearing
their sidewalks within 24 hours of the end of a storm. When his office
receives a complaint, his staff sends a letter explaining the new law.
"The letter really reminds people that it is their responsibility
to clear the sidewalks," DiGiovanni said. "Most people try to be
good neighbors, and that's what we try to appeal to."
It is highly unlikely that the county will enforce the law,
which can carry a $50 fine per storm, DiGiovanni said.
"We have a hard enough time clearing our own roads," he said.
"We just don't have a mechanism to enforce the law."
The county has about 1,000 miles of sidewalks, about the same
distance between Maryland and Florida, he said.
"It's a lot of sidewalk."
The law was never intended to be punitive, said Andrews, chairman
of the council's public safety committee.
"The intent is not to come down hard on people, but to increase
the number of sidewalks cleared," he said. "The goal here is to
encourage people to do the right thing."
Before the law, the county relied on property owners to do just
that -- clear the walkways out of kindness and common sense.
After numerous complaints from advocates for the elderly and the
disabled and school groups about the dangers of walking along
snow-covered sidewalks, county lawmakers approved the measure.
Many municipalities within the county already had such a law,
Andrews said.
The law allows the county executive to extend the deadline for
clearing sidewalks if precipitation is extreme, as it was last
winter. In addition to the fine, the county can clear a homeowner's
sidewalk if other attempts to comply with the law fail. The county
can then bill the homeowner for the cost.
DiGiovanni doubted that the county would begin clearing sidewalks,
and Andrews doesn't think that will be necessary.
"I believe it has been successful," Andrews said. "It has resulted
in a significant increase of cleared sidewalks."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13235-2004Feb4.html
------ © 2004 The Washington Post Company
As far as "Clear Sailing for Pedestrians" goes:
I will follow up this post with an article by Mary Battiata
(a relative of my family doctor) in the very same publication (a
(Washington Post Magazine cover story) about how treacherous are
area sidewalks, and how the DC Area has abandoned the pedestrian.
Unfortunately, since Mary's article appeared, the Post "purged"
its ranks of more liberal reporters in a buyout, including its
top transit reporter, was canned for writing too many transit-
related articles (according to the DC City Paper). So it's no
surprise that DC pedestrian conditions have SUDDENLY improved...
After all, we must continue to think of THE CHILDREN!
--Brian Robinson
-- according to its author, Phil Andrews, the most liberal member
of the Montgomery County (MD) Council.
Furthermore according to the article, there are no plans to enforce it
-- as the county has its hands full helping motorists. The law
is intended primarily to send a message, according to Andrews.
The message? According to Andrews and other suburban policy makers:
Sidewalks are for children (and the indigent)!!
Anyone needing further proof of how deep this prejudice goes in the
suburban population may visit Chevy Chase MD, an affluent "liberal"
bastion where sidewalks are designed explicitly for the help. They
begin, and end, at bus stops.
The official line is much more progressive:
In rich, liberal Montgomery County, sidewalks are FOR THE CHILDREN!
Remember this next time local DC-area environmentalists advocate
transit in some other jurisdiction, say, Texas or even Baltimore.
------ See Article below. --BER
Clear Sailing For Pedestrians
Few Complain of Difficulties After Snowstorm
By Meredith Carlson Daly
Special to the Washington Post
Thursday, February 5, 2004; Page GZ12
A county law requiring property owners to shovel their sidewalks
is working with few complaints, creating clearer paths, county
officials said.
The 2001 Pedestrian Winter Safety Act, intended to make sure
sidewalks were cleared for children walking to and from school,
has been effective,
said council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg), the chief
sponsor of the law.
"It was clearly necessary to have a law because in many places it was
not being done," Andrews said. "We have tens of thousands of children
that have to walk to school. If sidewalks aren't cleared,
it stays icy a long time."
Since last week's snowstorm, the county's highway maintenance office
has fielded less than a dozen complaints from residents about
impassable sidewalks, said John J. DiGiovanni, manager of highway
maintenance for the county.
Some of those complaints have been about sidewalks along busy state
byways, such as Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road; others concern
residential neighborhoods, he said.
His response has been to tell residents about the need for clearing
their sidewalks within 24 hours of the end of a storm. When his office
receives a complaint, his staff sends a letter explaining the new law.
"The letter really reminds people that it is their responsibility
to clear the sidewalks," DiGiovanni said. "Most people try to be
good neighbors, and that's what we try to appeal to."
It is highly unlikely that the county will enforce the law,
which can carry a $50 fine per storm, DiGiovanni said.
"We have a hard enough time clearing our own roads," he said.
"We just don't have a mechanism to enforce the law."
The county has about 1,000 miles of sidewalks, about the same
distance between Maryland and Florida, he said.
"It's a lot of sidewalk."
The law was never intended to be punitive, said Andrews, chairman
of the council's public safety committee.
"The intent is not to come down hard on people, but to increase
the number of sidewalks cleared," he said. "The goal here is to
encourage people to do the right thing."
Before the law, the county relied on property owners to do just
that -- clear the walkways out of kindness and common sense.
After numerous complaints from advocates for the elderly and the
disabled and school groups about the dangers of walking along
snow-covered sidewalks, county lawmakers approved the measure.
Many municipalities within the county already had such a law,
Andrews said.
The law allows the county executive to extend the deadline for
clearing sidewalks if precipitation is extreme, as it was last
winter. In addition to the fine, the county can clear a homeowner's
sidewalk if other attempts to comply with the law fail. The county
can then bill the homeowner for the cost.
DiGiovanni doubted that the county would begin clearing sidewalks,
and Andrews doesn't think that will be necessary.
"I believe it has been successful," Andrews said. "It has resulted
in a significant increase of cleared sidewalks."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13235-2004Feb4.html
------ © 2004 The Washington Post Company
As far as "Clear Sailing for Pedestrians" goes:
I will follow up this post with an article by Mary Battiata
(a relative of my family doctor) in the very same publication (a
(Washington Post Magazine cover story) about how treacherous are
area sidewalks, and how the DC Area has abandoned the pedestrian.
Unfortunately, since Mary's article appeared, the Post "purged"
its ranks of more liberal reporters in a buyout, including its
top transit reporter, was canned for writing too many transit-
related articles (according to the DC City Paper). So it's no
surprise that DC pedestrian conditions have SUDDENLY improved...
After all, we must continue to think of THE CHILDREN!
--Brian Robinson