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Rant. Neighbors not clearing their sidewalks

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by sunnydog, Feb 12, 2010.

  1. jdhauer

    jdhauer Active Member

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    But, Cliff, the county people's office isn't open until Tuesday and my kid (and many others) will have to navigate that mess in order to get to school because these so called "neighbors" are being inconsiderate asses. This is the first time I have ever seen any type of clearing done at all by them - my child has already suffered a sprained ankle last year from slipping on the mess they haven't cleaned up.

    What do you suggest be done between now and Tuesday? Obviously, we could go up there and do their shoveling for them but I'm not really inclined to reward their inconsiderate, dangerous and muddle headed behavior.
     
  2. CJA

    CJA New Member

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    Probably not much you can do until Tuesday unless they shovel the walk or someone does it for them. Part of the reasoning for the 1 hour delay on Tues that the school has listed on their website is because kids will have to walk in the streets to get to the bus stops so they are recommending adult supervision. There are still plenty of walkways that aren't shoveled at all so I would imagine there are going to be a lot of people using the streets not just Tues morning but for a while until either they finally shovel or till the snow melts.
     
  3. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Sure they are, except with the extent of the snowfall we've had, I doubt the county will have the inclination, time and/or resources to send out letters to folks for at least a few weeks, well past the time it will make any difference. Letters are a great motivator when you can expect them to arrive within a reasonable amount of time to even make a difference.
     
  4. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    I wouldn't assume they won't help.
     
  5. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    It obviously won't help for this Tuesday, but if you explain the efforts you made to get them to do it and they still didn't, then a notice from the county may get them out there next time. And believe me, there will be a next time and it will be sooner rather than later.

    I personally do not believe there is ANY excuse for not clearing your sidewalk. If I lived on a corner where they piled it up, I would be out there with my pick-axe chopping it clear. But that's me.
     
  6. mjbenteler

    mjbenteler mom2three

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    we have a neighbor that shoveled their sidewalk. then the neighbors, in the pipestem next to them, shoveled/"snow blowered" there driveway and threw all the snow on the shoveled sidewalk. talk about a bad neighbor!! the snow is now 5 feet high on the sidewalk they have already shoveled.
     
  7. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Never said they wouldn't 'help', I just said that by the time folks get them, we'll most probably be done with any sort of accumulation that would necessitate immediate shoveling this season. It will probably help next year though...

    Telling folks to contact the county to have letters sent out is a good idea, just not something that will solve the issue folks are having right this moment. Best thing to do for a prompt response is approach your neighbor and have a civilized conversation.
     
  8. jdhauer

    jdhauer Active Member

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    That's what I already tried to do. Instead of just sitting here behind my computer, I marched up the street, knocked on the door and specifically asked them whether they knew they had to do it and received lots of excuses.

    For them to shovel out in the street, intentionally ignoring the sidewalk on one side of their property but not the other, well it's wrong.

    I think it I were to go back and talk to them again, they'd take it as hostile - I know I would if a neighbor asked me to do something and then they came back to criticize it - even if (as in this case), it seems entirely warranted.

    I'm asking that someone else approach them this time - I have already tried.

    Please?!
     
  9. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    JD, I think you've probably done all you can for this time. The neighbors know how you feel and that they should shovel. Now it's up to them, as annoying as that is.
     
  10. jdhauer

    jdhauer Active Member

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    My issue is that they probably think they *did* shovel by clearing out a path in the curb/street instead of on the sidewalk.

    I'm assuming they'll continue to do so should they ever shovel again in the future.

    They need a specific education about what the definition of "sidewalk" is.

    I will definitely be contacting the county on Tuesday about them.
     
  11. woopity

    woopity cdubs ya know!

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    you have got to be kidding me. Do you realize what a bunch of whining all this sounds like? If the woman's there---and you're talking to her--whether she's making excuses or not--did you ever think to offer to help out. Grab her shovel and do a little work if you're so worried about it.
    I heard a lot of stories of neighbors helping out from friends of ours in Ashburn...i'm guessing that same attitude doesn't exists down here in Broadlands. With all the snow we ended up throwing over our sidewalk (we're in a TH)---if someone wants it shoveled, they better bring their own--b/c i'm not digging it out until the mound of snow is below 3 feet.
     
  12. mamatothree

    mamatothree New Member

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    Please don't judge the people of Broadlands by what you read on a forum where a small percentage of the residents communicate. There's plenty of neighbors helping each other out - as clearly evidenced by posts elsewhere on this forum. Like every other community on the planet, there are helpful neighbors and inconsiderate neighbors, cheerleaders and complainers...As a long time resident here, I can say that good, considerate neighbors outnumber the jerks, although it may not feel that way when you are forced into dealing with the jerks.
     
  13. cobymom

    cobymom Sheila Ryan

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    If you have a sidewalk, you need to clear it according to ordinances. Lots of people in the Broadlands help each other out. Our neighborhood willingly cleared streets and sidewalks in order to make sure people (especially kids!) could get around safely. In order to have good neighbors, you need to be a good neighbor and clearing your sidewalks or asking somebody to help do that task is something that just needs to be done as part of home ownership....
     
  14. lilpea

    lilpea Member

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    We had a wonderful neighbor that did snow blow our sidewalk along ridgeway, but over the weekend either the VDOT contractor or the HOA contractor used a tractor & front loader and buried the sidewalk (AGAIN) as well as the walking path along Claiborne.

    In addition we have a 9x11 foot mountain of snow/ice that one of the contractors placed at the curb. I am mindful that our curb is the "bus stop" but I don't think contractors are.

    It is very frustrating since we ensured our sidewalk was clear of snow/ice (per county guidelines) only to more work created for us due to contractors.
     
    chris67 likes this.
  15. jdhauer

    jdhauer Active Member

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    As a matter of fact, I *did* offer to help and was informed that my husband could clean her entire sidewalk for her.

    Had her attitude been different, I would have been happy to help - we've dug out a big enough area on the street for mail delivery to drive to the mailbox and for drivers to pull over to allow traffic to pass on what is currently a one lane road. We've been chopping ice to make sure that the sidewalks stay safe as ice builds up overnight from the forozen melt. We've been assisting others with their sidewalks and driveways including a neighbor who has been out of town throughout the whole storm.

    There's a difference between helping others and being taken advantage of - there's also a civic responsibility that we all have to clear our sidewalks. This particular property owner neglects that regularly - not just this storm.

    I'd send my kid down the road to the other bus stop except that sidewalk also has not been shoveled :(

    Oh, and if (hopefully when), the contractors show up to widen the road to two lanes, I entirely expect to have to shovel out our sidewalks again from whatever gets thrown on them.
     
  16. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    There's been lots of comments about how much folks here DO help each other out.
    But, with 2900 homes, you're going to have lots of people with differing attitudes.
     
  17. T8ergirl

    T8ergirl New Member

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    I have to say that if I had cleaned the sidewalk in front of or alongside my house (or T8erman had..) only to have a plow or contractor recover it in a massive pile of icy dirty road snow.... I'll be damned if I'd clean it again. Really. That's just crazy.
     
  18. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

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    Agreed, while I don't have a sidewalk, every corner on Milford and Windover, Larchmont, that has a sidewalk, has a absolutely huge mound of snow on it, that no human would be able to dig through without either spending several days working at it or renting some sort of powered equipment to move that snow from the sidewalk. While I agree that in a normal (I can't define normals btw) snow fall that the sidewalks need to be cleared, this certainly does not fall under the category. People are doing the best they can and if a sidewalk is not clear, put down the mouse and pick up a shovel.

    FYIW, the people who cleared the streets did a pretty damn good job, with the amount of snow and the amount of time, I think they did way better than most neighborhoods. I was in Arlington Friday and it's a disaster in the neighborhood I was in and over in Landsdowne and that place is even worse. So we are doing great here in the Broadlands. :):):)
     
  19. woopity

    woopity cdubs ya know!

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    i agree!!! arfter driving around and seeing other areas...the snow removal (atleast in my neck of the woods), was fantastic. The plowing of snow up into my driveway got on my nerves a few times, but it has to go somewhere (which is why---when i dug out--i threw it right back in the street--MWAHHAHAHHA.:p) Last Monday night--with the call of another huge snow storm coming...around 9:30 PM, a small army of plows and bulldozers showed up---widened our road to two lanes---taking with it much of huge mounds that had spilled from our puny yards into the street. What public parking was open was plowed as well. Many of my friends who rely on the county to plow didn't see a plow for the first time until Monday.
     
  20. pamD

    pamD New Member

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    I have to send out special thanks to the neighbors who cleared out a spot for pull-ins on Stone Hollow, and who cleared a path through the plow's pile to get to our cluster of mailboxes.
     

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