Failure to Clear Sidewalks by HOA & Resident

Am I the only one upset by this? If the HOA doesn't follow its own rules regarding time limits on clearing walks, why should we?

I was told that the contractor was unable to clear the walks because of the difficult conditions. Can I use that excuse? Also, aside from some random piles of salt, it appears that NO efforts have been made to clear the walks. And I'm not referring to the nature walks, just the ones adjacent to the roads.

Currently, I am having to walk my dog in the road. I don't consider this safe or acceptable more than 4 days after the end of the storm.

Does the apparent lack of effort on our HOA & their contractor (and our fellow residents) to clear their walks bother anyone else?

 

I have to admit annoyance at one neighbor who hasn’t cleared their sidewalk of snow once in the 7.5 years we’ve lived here. Their house is on the corner and the school bus stop is in front of the house so unless other neighbors clear it for them, the kids have to walk through the snow & ice and then stand in it while waiting for the bus.

 

You can report them to the county ... by county law, a house occupying a corner lot is required to clear all sideways adjacent to their lot.

 

I have personally seen MILES of walks that the HOA has cleared, and the clearing continues. An individual homeowner has a 75-150 feet of sidewalk to clear.
Also be aware that the HOA doesn't clear all the internal trails.
If you see some HOA sidewalks that need clearing, phone in the location to the HOA office Monday morning.
Your comment about "lack of effort" displays ignorance of the efforts that HAVE been made by the HOA and the contractor.
What is your "magic bullet" solution to the problems caused by this ice storm which, by the way, is the worst I have seen in 10 years here? Since you are quick to accuse, I'm sure you are quick to have a workable solution.

 

I believe that the sidewalks of Broadlands are critical. There are many runners and walkers. However, this was an unusual snow storm. The timing of the event made it hard to get ahead of. In addition, the snow quickly turned to ice with the strength of concrete. I applaud the contractor and HOA for efforts made to clear the walks.

 

Why don't you walk your own dog in your own yard for a change.

 

I have a teenager & snow thrower. They are for rent. Reasonable rates. You may have to feed him.

 

That is a very closed minded thing to say. Dogs need exercise and if you live in a townhouse, there is no back yard.

 

It's just until the crisis calms down, and you must have some yard even if you are not an end unit. Some of the THs have great yards. And I'm refering to waste management mor ethen exercise if you catch my drift.

 

For dog walkers, my short loop sidewalks were clear today. Basically from DeMott & Vestals Gap, you can take DeMott to Waxpool to Clairborne to Vestals Gap.

Claiborne was clear all the way from Waxpool to the Safeway shopping center, but after that it was a bit rough.

I usually go for the long walk from DeMott to Waxpool to Chickacoan to Broadlands Blvd to DeMott, but most of that remained icy today.

Still, plenty of trails were open today near us. So thanks for the efforts to clear those trails!

 

This was an unusual storm. I had to use a garden hoe to hack up the ice and shovel half my driveway last week. Today I tried to shovel my front walk and sidewalk - gave up after two minutes. It's pure ice, top to bottom. We're due for some warmer weather this week - I'd give the ice a chance to thaw a bit so people can get shovels under it before getting too fired up about this.

 

I moved here from New Hampshire, so you'll have to excuse me if this wasn't a particularly impressive storm. I have been in a heck of a lot worse than the 4 inches of snow covered by a crust. This was a nasty crust, strong enough to hold a truck up, but when I lived there, I had snow piles tall enough at the end of my driveway to climb onto the peak of my two garage
The solution is simple. The residents of our pipestem (more than 75 feet of sidewalk!) share a two stage snowblower. The auger on a snowblower tore through the ice on the day after the storm and threw the snow and ice easily to the sides of the pipestem and sidewalks. Within 24 hours of the end of the storm, not only were our sidewalks and pipestem clear, but they were actually DRY! If our contractors don't have sufficient equipment or manpower to deal with these conditions, perhaps we should find one who does. I did notice that all of the strip malls had their walks and parking lots cleared just hours after the storm subsided, so it is possible.
The sidewalks that I was complaining about are on Chickacoan and Broadlands Blvd. It is dangerous for pedestrians to walk on either road, and if "miles have been cleared" perhaps we should make sure that, in the future, the busiest roads are dealt with first.
Part of my frustration was with being unable to send an e-mail to Mr. Schroeder through the link on the HOA Website. If this storm was the crisis that you consider it, it would have made sense for the HOA to put out some form of communication (perhaps on the home page, or a mass e-mail to forum members) stating that the contractor is out there every day, 8-10 hours / day, trying their best to clear the walks, and that the HOA appreciates our patience.

Again, let me point out that many businesses and residents managed to clear their walkways quickly (and thoughtfully) after the storm.

 

Yesterday, one of my neighbors chopped at his the ice pile formed by the road plows at the base of his driveway for about four hours and successfully cleared it! It is called perserverance, and it is a good thing! I put some ice melt on some particularly stubborn ice that formed from drips off of my roof. Two hours later, I could EASILY chop through and had my front steps cleared. The temperature has been right around freezing for the past three days, which makes ice melt EXTREMELY effective. When it gets around 0*F, then I will grant you, waiting for temperatures that make ice melt more viable makes sense.

 

My dog actually does not use walks for "waste management" I didn't have a problem not walking her for two days, but now we are 6 DAYS OUT FROM THE STORM!!! Remember, it hit last Tuesday and Wednesday! 4, 5 and 6 days from the storm, everyone should have had sufficient time to clear their walks, including the HOA.

 

Chill, dude. It's a sidewalk. Change your plans for a few days, go sledding, enjoy the ice and snow. Not worth getting that upset about.

 

Nobody will be "chill" if a kid get clipped by a car while walking down the road on Chickacoan instead of the sidewalk. That is why the law exists! It isn't about looking nice with a pretty sidewalk. It is a safety issue. Also, if somebody wipes out on a slippery sidewalk, that wouldn't be very cool, either! I am certain that no one who is a member of the HOA would be happy with causing injury to anyone , or footing the legal costs associated with an injury .

Sidebar:
I am the king of sledding! I take my two daughters at least once per storm. I miss the hill behind the college on Route 7 but I have a couple of secret hills on golf courses that don't kick me off!

 

PGA - you present some valid points and frankly it is VERY easy to blame the HOA for just about everything, however it is not productive. Resident HOA board members (Cliff, Donna and Brian etc) VOLUNTEER their free time to ensure our community is safe and esthetically pleasing.

1) Roads that the HOA maintains - the selected contractor worked double and triple time to ensure all roads where cleared and treated. I can't say that VDOT had the same standard - nor did Saul (folks who own the Safeway shopping center) the entrance and parking lot to the shopping center was a joke.

2) The sidewalks - I agree that there were some sidewalks that had not been cleared (based on the date/time of your original post), however this was not a lack of effort. As you know some of the sidewalks were impenetrable, however the contractor again worked to clear almost all of them during the week and into the weekend.

This is purely a suggestion - I know that the HOA & various committees are always looking for volunteers and you seem to be very passionate about the safety of the community - why not put your concerns to work and volunteer?

 

Mike-
I also lived in New Hampshire. Trust me....you are no longer in New Hampshire.
These Forums ARE NOT the proper way to notify the HOA of issues. In fact, most of our staff does not monitor them. They have enough work to do without trying to respond to anonymous complaints on a forum.
Phone calls also work...703-729-9704. Wes's email is wschroeder@broadlandshoa.com. I've had no problems using it.
You make a good point about being able to get something on our Website. Right now, HOA staff does not have instant access to post on the Homepage of the Broadlands HOA website. This is being corrected by our Tech Committee. They plan to unveil a more user friendly site shortly.
If you can supply the name(s) of contractor's that will have ALL the equipment necessary to remove the precipitation of a storm of this magnitude in 24 hours, I would appreciate their name and number.
If, in the future, you want to make your services available with your auger/snowblower to clear some walks, your help may be utilized.

 

Cliff, I don't see where Mike is saying anything diffently than anyone else using this forum to discuss the snow storm and its aftermath. What I do hear from participants is that there's a need for better preparation. Sure, we got caught offguard - but who can predict the weather with any accuracy anyway?

 

Read all his posts. They were laced with inaccurate accusations and assumptions. His final assertion is that, since he's from NH, this storm was no big deal.
I grew up in Michigan, spent 7 years in Mass and NH, and 10 years here. This storm WAS a big deal. Had this been a simple 4 inch snow, the walks would have been cleared long ago and we wouldn't be having this discussion.