Sidewalk Maintenance

[Scott5114]

Barbed wire? Your property sounds ugly as shit.

Nobody has ever sold stuff or evangelized on my sidewalk. If they come to the door to do it, I have a NO SOLICITING BEWARE OF DOG sticker on the door in bright red Series D. And if anyone knocks anyway–always been political campaigns so far–I tell them I'm going to vote for their opponent because their candidate clearly doesn't see following the rules as much of a priority. (Or I just don't answer the door at all.)

[HighwayStar]

Barbed wire? Your property sounds ugly as shit.

Nobody has ever sold stuff or evangelized on my sidewalk. If they come to the door to do it, I have a NO SOLICITING BEWARE OF DOG sticker on the door. And if anyone knocks anyway–always been political campaigns so far–I tell them I'm going to vote for their opponent because their candidate clearly doesn't see following the rules as much of a priority. (Or I just don't answer the door at all.)

I love the look of barbed wire actually, it has a nice country feel that blends right in with the surroundings. Keeps people, dogs, horses and the like out too.

[Scott5114]

You sound like someone who would oppose a highway upgrade because it would ruin the "rural character" of the road.

Walking? Not in my back yard! (Or front yard in this case.)

[formulanone]

America is a great place: trolls no longer have to live under bridges.

[1995hoo]

Barbed wire? Your property sounds ugly as shit.

...

His profile says "Philadelphia," so isn't that more or less a given?

[SkyPesos]

....

That said, in this day and age I don't see the need for sidewalks and prefer to not have them. Just one more thing to maintain and it encourages foot traffic by the house which I would rather not have.

So where are people supposed to walk?

In their yard, or at a park somewhere else.

So people cant walk places in your world?

America treats everyone not in a car as a second-rate person already (as it can be seen by sidewalks ending abruptly in many places). He takes it even more extreme.

[HighwayStar]

You sound like someone who would oppose a highway upgrade because it would ruin the "rural character" of the road.

Walking? Not in my back yard! (Or front yard in this case.)

No, I love highways and road improvements. 

[jeffandnicole]

Barbed wire? Your property sounds ugly as shit.

Nobody has ever sold stuff or evangelized on my sidewalk. If they come to the door to do it, I have a NO SOLICITING BEWARE OF DOG sticker on the door. And if anyone knocks anyway–always been political campaigns so far–I tell them I'm going to vote for their opponent because their candidate clearly doesn't see following the rules as much of a priority. (Or I just don't answer the door at all.)

I love the look of barbed wire actually, it has a nice country feel that blends right in with the surroundings. Keeps people, dogs, horses and the like out too.

Figured it out. He lives in a prison.  No sidewalks are needed because he gets paid 57 cents an hour to mow the grass.  More grass = more mowing = more money for prison extras.  He loves highways and road improvements because the nickel rides in the paddy wagon get rough going over the potholes.

[jamess]

clearing them after a snowstorm is the individual homeowner's responsibility. There's no penalty for not doing so. You're not "required" to clear your sidewalk.

The penalty might arrive in the form of an extremely expensive "slip and fall" lawsuit against you that you would most certainly lose.

[SEWIGuy]

clearing them after a snowstorm is the individual homeowner's responsibility. There's no penalty for not doing so. You're not "required" to clear your sidewalk.

The penalty might arrive in the form of an extremely expensive "slip and fall" lawsuit against you that you would most certainly lose.

We have 24 hours to clear sidewalks or the city does it for you and they levy a fine.

[Rothman]

clearing them after a snowstorm is the individual homeowner's responsibility. There's no penalty for not doing so. You're not "required" to clear your sidewalk.

The penalty might arrive in the form of an extremely expensive "slip and fall" lawsuit against you that you would most certainly lose.

We have 24 hours to clear sidewalks or the city does it for you and they levy a fine.

Right.  Sidewalk responsibilities differ by jurisdiction.

[Ted$8roadFan]

In my town, sidewalk maintenance is the property owner's responsibility. This matter is not without controversy, as many question why sidewalks, owned by the city shouldn't be taken care of by the city.

[SEWIGuy]

In my town, sidewalk maintenance is the property owner's responsibility. This matter is not without controversy, as many question why sidewalks, owned by the city shouldn't be taken care of by the city.

Because you agreed to the easement on which the sidewalk sits, and the laws that govern their maintenance, when you bought your property.

[Ted$8roadFan]

In my town, sidewalk maintenance is the property owner's responsibility. This matter is not without controversy, as many question why sidewalks, owned by the city shouldn't be taken care of by the city.

Because you agreed to the easement on which the sidewalk sits, and the laws that govern their maintenance, when you bought your property.

True enough, but that's a finer point not appreciated by many of today's homeowners.

[SkyPesos]

Barbed wire? Your property sounds ugly as shit.

Nobody has ever sold stuff or evangelized on my sidewalk. If they come to the door to do it, I have a NO SOLICITING BEWARE OF DOG sticker on the door. And if anyone knocks anyway–always been political campaigns so far–I tell them I'm going to vote for their opponent because their candidate clearly doesn't see following the rules as much of a priority. (Or I just don't answer the door at all.)

I love the look of barbed wire actually, it has a nice country feel that blends right in with the surroundings. Keeps people, dogs, horses and the like out too.

You sound like someone who would oppose a highway upgrade because it would ruin the "rural character" of the road.

Walking? Not in my back yard! (Or front yard in this case.)

Where is FritzOwl when we need him?

[kalvado]

In my town, sidewalk maintenance is the property owner's responsibility. This matter is not without controversy, as many question why sidewalks, owned by the city shouldn't be taken care of by the city.

Because you agreed to the easement on which the sidewalk sits, and the laws that govern their maintenance, when you bought your property.

True enough, but that's a finer point not appreciated by many of today's homeowners.

In case of our local laws, property line is further back from the street, and sidewalk is on public land.

[triplemultiplex]

In an homage to those insurance ads about becoming your parents, I have an oddly outsized desire to shovel the front sidewalk in winter. I have a long-standing appreciation for shoveling snow in winter.  I find it immensely satisfying.  I have long been the one who took charge of this task even as a young teenager at home.  In fact, I'd be disappointed if I could not get the front sidewalk shoveled before we had to go to school.  I have and still do delay breakfast to get the sidewalk shoveled.

The reason is simple.  If I don't get to it right away, someone is going to trample the snow and squish it down which makes it harder to scrape off.  I learned very early the the absolute best asset for clearing a sidewalk is sublimation.  This is the the process by which a solid transforms directly to a gas.  In winter, this means snow does not need to necessarily melt to clear from a paved surface.  Absent some type of icing situation, it means for snow shoveling that you can clear untrammeled snow and expect that the sidewalk will become completely clear in a matter of hours regardless of temperature or sunlight.  The dry air of winter is such that the thin veneer of snow remaining after shoveling will sublimate direct into water vapor within a few hours of shoveling your sidewalk.  At the very least, there is a full traction surface available to pedestrians without the the addition of any salts or other de-icing agents; a huge bonus to the environment.  I like to call it "Artisan Snow Clearing"

Furthermore, I will add that shoveling snow is an amazing work out.  You move all kinds of core and arm muscles.  The cold ensures you'll never overheat.  And when you're done, the sense of accomplishment is fantastic.  Working out in the cosmopolitan sense is lame because there's nothing to show for your weight lifting or treadmill mileage.  But shovel a driveway and you can lord over your domination of nature or whatever and physically gaze upon the micro empire you have conquered from Old Man Winter.

I enjoy it so much that I shovel for two of my neighbors at present and basically ask no recompense from them.  Telecommuting makes it even more rewarding because I can get to it before anyone drives through the furrow from the snow plow.  The worst thing for shoveling is if some car has driven over the snow; that's ten times worse than walking over an unshoveled sidewalk.

All this to say if you don't have a snowblower, you'd love to have me as a neighbor in winter.  Which is interesting because I've found that many people who do have snowblowers like to putter around with them and happily clear their neighbor's sidewalk out of courtesy, but secretly they just like chugging along with their little machine.  I guess I have the same mentality but it's rooted in doing the same task physically rather than mechanically.

[skluth]

I hate snow but I also have a compulsion to shovel it on my property. This was true even when I rented. A 12" snowstorm hit St Louis not long after I moved there in the late 80's. I shoveled off the front steps and the sidewalk in front of my place even though I was renting in a three-floor walk-up. I don't mind shoveling snow as much as I hate living and driving in snow and ice, hence my retirement to the desert.

[andrepoiy]

I'm quite sure sidewalks here in my city are owned and maintained by the city. For some reason on some Regional Roads, the sidewalk alongside is still the City's jurisdiction rather than the Region.

[Duke87]

That said, in this day and age I don't see the need for sidewalks and prefer to not have them. Just one more thing to maintain and it encourages foot traffic by the house which I would rather not have.

This is the same energy as The Twits, who insist on their house having no windows so people can't see in.

[Rothman]

That said, in this day and age I don't see the need for sidewalks and prefer to not have them. Just one more thing to maintain and it encourages foot traffic by the house which I would rather not have.

This is the same energy as The Twits, who insist on their house having no windows so people can't see in.

Wait until you hear about the barbed wire.

[HighwayStar]

That said, in this day and age I don't see the need for sidewalks and prefer to not have them. Just one more thing to maintain and it encourages foot traffic by the house which I would rather not have.

This is the same energy as The Twits, who insist on their house having no windows so people can't see in.

Curtains and shutters work well for keeping people from seeing in.
However, horses tend to lean on plastic fences and cause the fence to in turn lean, which is why ranches don't use plastic fences to keep the horses/cattle in.

[Duke87]

That said, in this day and age I don't see the need for sidewalks and prefer to not have them. Just one more thing to maintain and it encourages foot traffic by the house which I would rather not have.

This is the same energy as The Twits, who insist on their house having no windows so people can't see in.

Curtains and shutters work well for keeping people from seeing in.
However, horses tend to lean on plastic fences and cause the fence to in turn lean, which is why ranches don't use plastic fences to keep the horses/cattle in.

Missing the point.

In fixating on the fact that sidewalks allow other people to walk near your house you have apparently missed that those same sidewalks would also allow you to walk places.

[Scott5114]

That said, in this day and age I don't see the need for sidewalks and prefer to not have them. Just one more thing to maintain and it encourages foot traffic by the house which I would rather not have.

This is the same energy as The Twits, who insist on their house having no windows so people can't see in.

Curtains and shutters work well for keeping people from seeing in.
However, horses tend to lean on plastic fences and cause the fence to in turn lean, which is why ranches don't use plastic fences to keep the horses/cattle in.

Missing the point.

In fixating on the fact that sidewalks allow other people to walk near your house you have apparently missed that those same sidewalks would also allow you to walk places.

Allow me to predict his response:
I'm too mean and tough to go walk anywhere, peasant! I'm just gonna drive my Ultimate Roadtrip Car™ anywhere I need to go! I think I'm a badass!

[HighwayStar]

That said, in this day and age I don't see the need for sidewalks and prefer to not have them. Just one more thing to maintain and it encourages foot traffic by the house which I would rather not have.

This is the same energy as The Twits, who insist on their house having no windows so people can't see in.

Curtains and shutters work well for keeping people from seeing in.
However, horses tend to lean on plastic fences and cause the fence to in turn lean, which is why ranches don't use plastic fences to keep the horses/cattle in.

Missing the point.

In fixating on the fact that sidewalks allow other people to walk near your house you have apparently missed that those same sidewalks would also allow you to walk places.

Allow me to predict his response:
I'm too mean and tough to go walk anywhere, peasant! I'm just gonna drive my Ultimate Roadtrip Car™ anywhere I need to go! I think I'm a badass!

I don't usually favor walking anywhere from the house, no real purpose. I usually go to dedicated facilities for that.