The City of Somerville has just adopted a new sidewalk shoveling ordinance which not only increases fine, but will mark scofflaws’ properties with large “Scarlet Letter” inspired placards, Wicked Local Somerville reports.
… inspectional services will put “large, strikingly colored door markers on the properties of offenders,” she said. “[The markers] will not only bring attention to the property owner but will make the neighbors aware of the citation that are being serviced to such properties.
What is the matter with society? I find societal emotional blackmail and public shaming completely without dignity. No wonder people resist arrest in this country when ordinances and laws being instituted by today’s elected representatives are simply absurd.
I am in complete agreement with Janet. I’m not sure exactly when it happened. Perhaps it was a result of 9-11. But our country has gone through an amazing transformation from a government that worked for us–to us working for the government. We’re not going to Hell in a hand basket. We’re already there!
I hear Hell froze over and nobody shovels their sidewalks.
This is absolutely crazy and so counterproductive. I expected better from Somerville.
How is it any crazier than sticking a parking ticket on a windshield? Or a notice on a garbage bin? Should we stop traffic police from pulling cars over? That’s got to be embarrassing for drivers (i.e. public shaming). Where do you draw the line on what is acceptable and unacceptable ‘public shaming’?
The difference is that the “scarlet letter” is intended as punishment without due process of law.
But let’s set aside the legal aspect for a moment, and address the underlying practical issue. The blame for the wintertime condition of our sidewalks belongs with the public officials who don’t do their jobs. But proponents of a residential shoveling ordinance are equally to blame, because they provide the excuse.
Winter after winter, ordinance advocates see the failure of their ridiculous citizen shovel brigade concept. But like punch drunk fighters, they keep getting up off the mat threatening to hit their opponents even harder the next time. Will these folks ever admit the shoveling ordinance is a failure? Will they ever change tactics and put pressure on City officials to get the job done? I doubt it! It’s far more likely that ordinance proponents will [ironically] remain the biggest obstacle to clear sidewalks in Newton.
I’m with Lucia on this. Hate to disagree with Bob Burke, but I think it’s premature to call it counterproductive until they see whether it works, has no effect, or somehow results in less sidewalk clearing. My thought watching the video was ‘yellow is strikingly colored? Doesn’t look much different than advertising door hangers.’
We’ve had this discussion before on blogs, and I’ve done the math that shows how inexpensive it is on a per sidewalk basis if the city does it with sidewalk plows as they should. Not only that, it assures that all sidewalks are done at about the same time.
And there are many city sidewalks that connect to sidewalks in front of private houses (sidewalks owned of course by the city) that the city needs to do anyway.
The city should take responsibility for this, and should do a good job. This is gross incompetence, and to add a “scarlet letter” to us, the citizens of the city, is pathetic and insulting.
Maybe if they dock the superintendent of schools the amount they should for plagiarism, they could pay for a few storms.
C’mon fellow Newton citizens, REALLY???
You would rather have our tax dollars pay for a person or people to publicly shame households where shoveling was neglected than to actually do the work of the city – clear the snow on publicly owned property. This is beyond ridiculous. I am so glad I won’t be alive for the year 2100. I can’t imagine the new and wacky ordinances that our next generation of avant-garde Aldercritters will be instituting for the “good for all” at the expense (emotionally and financially) of the taxpayer.
This whole thread is ridiculous. The real scarlet letter is self-imposed. The unshovelled sidewalk is sufficient for public shaming. The small door tag is simply evidence of the city enforcing its policy.
For those who think the city can handle sidewalk snow removal operations and trivialize its cost, prove it. Find a city of similar size with such a program, and present it to the board. Why stop there? Perhaps little elves should clear the sidewalks of leaves, too, while we’re at it. It’s city property. Might as well use gas-powered leafblowers.
@Adam,
The City of Rochester, NY (with an area of 35 sq. miles and a population of approximately 200,000) plows 878 miles of city owned sidewalks whenever there is a snow fall of 4 inches or more. The plowing is billed to residents as an “embellishment” fee included in the annual property tax bill based upon their frontage, for an average cost of $1.023 per foot. Newton is approximately half the size of Rochester, in both geography and population.
Given the tools, the City of Newton can obviously handle sidewalk snow clearing. They already clear 300+ miles of roadway and a great deal of sidewalks. And I never would trivialize the cost. It’s shoveling ordinance proponents who are undermining public safety, by suggesting homeowners with shovels can do as good a job as a coordinated effort by mechanized equipment. If these people had their way, we’d still be putting out fires with a citizen bucket brigade. How many years of failure do they need to recognize this isn’t working?
Lisap,
Thanks. I don’t remember my exact conclusions from my estimates, but you are presenting real data which is convincing. If one has a 100-foot frontage, I think $100 a year wouldn’t be too much for us to not have to think about shoveling sidewalks. Plus, I’m pretty sure that Rochester gets a lot more annual snowfall than Newton, so it would probably cost us less.
There are people who are away on vacation during snowstorms, or away for the entire winter. There are people who are elderly or otherwise unable to do it and would have to hire people at I’m sure a much higher annual cost.
The city should clear the sidewalks during very bad storms over 12 in. Most people do clear their walkways and should continue to do so. The city could follow up and clear any areas which have not been done.
The idea of a scarlet letter is not appropriate.
Taking for granted that somehow the Newton would do a better job on all sidewalks than it does on the existing ones… I’d love to know more about how well this has worked for Rochester. How predictable is this $ figure and what sort of overrun is there when there is a blizzard? Do Rochester citizens take responsibility for sidewalks when there is less than 4″ of snow or snow/ice falls on the sidewalk? Does New York State have a requirement that citizens be able to opt-out from this service? (It’s my understanding that Newton’s law department believes this is the case for cities in Mass)
not sure about the opt-out, but answering part of my own question:
http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589936460
Those who think it violates civil liberties to make residents clear sidewalks will be disappointed by Rochester’s supplemental service. Residents ultimately have the responsibility to do the work the plows don’t do. Sounds like you could still get a scarlet letter if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain.
Rochester also requires people with unpaved sidewalks to shovel, which I think we should do, too:
In my experience walking where sidewalk plows have been — at least the kind that leave treads, they’re actually harder to walk on because of the frozen treads, so I end up walking in the street. It’s as if people think that the sidewalk plow went by, so they don’t have to do anything.
Won’t it be too dangerous for a city employee to get to the offending resident’s front door if the sidewalk is not shoveled? i propose a crossbow-based delivery system that can be operated from the safety of the newly plowed street.
@Denis: Great idea. Although in fact many sidewalk scofflaws tend to shovel a path from their driveway to their front door, just not their full sidewalk from end to end.
I’ve owned my house in Somerville since 1991 and am of the firm opinion that the Scarlett Letter mandate is about revenue, not public safety. The City knows that it will be virtually impossible for all who may need assistance, especially after heavy snowfalls, to obtain it within a few hours. Often the street remains impassable well into the day until a public-works plow (which I’ve often had to call to request on behalf of the entire street) arrives. The notion that an army of teens is going to magically (and reliably) materialize to help is preposterous. Assistance arrives as soon as it can, if the homeowner has arranged for it — but shovelers can’t be everywhere at once and need the flexibility to work their way through what may be a long list of clients. A regulation requiring that the sidewalks be cleared by 6 p.m. following a snowfall might be fair and reasonable.