School Snow Removal seems lacking why?

Today both my kids experienced dangerous conditions because of lack of snow removal around their schools.  Kids can't get in and out of the buildings or walk safely to and from the school.

there is a lot of snow and not much place to put it. What are they supposed to do. When I was a kid they would dump it in a river or lake but that is not allowed anymore. 

bramzzoinks said:

there is a lot of snow and not much place to put it. What are they supposed to do. When I was a kid they would dump it in a river or lake but that is not allowed anymore. 

Off topic.  But I've many times wondered why this is not allowed.  After all when snow melts, doesn't it end up in the river anyway?

alias said:

bramzzoinks said:

there is a lot of snow and not much place to put it. What are they supposed to do. When I was a kid they would dump it in a river or lake but that is not allowed anymore. 

Off topic.  But I've many times wondered why this is not allowed.  After all when snow melts, doesn't it end up in the river anyway?

My guess is because for every ton of snow that gets scooped up off the street there's a pound or two of garbage that you wouldn't want to dump in a stream or lake.

Also if you dumped it in our wee (small that is) river you'd probably end up with some local flooding caused by a giant dam of snow.

Dumping it in a pond would probably have a nasty adverse effect on what animals happened to be right under the spot of dumping.

I've been thinking about this today.

Yes, it ends up in the river anyway via the storm drains when it melts, so thus the need to avoid using crazy chemicals to melt the snow and not to go overboard with the rock salt ....but it is even worse if directly put in the water because of all the trash, oil and gas from cars, and salt picked up along with the snow.

"Benefits and Issues to Consider: Many conventional snow and ice removal products can affect wildlife, pets and human health. Too much salt can kill your plants, injure your pet’s feet and be corrosive to cars. Once the weather warms, excess salt will runoff into local water bodies and can create harmful conditions for wildlife and aquatic species. When you inappropriately use chemicals to remove ice and snow, the deicers will be tracked into your home on the bottom of shoes and boots. Once inside your home, children and pets may ingest them. These chemicals will also end up in our waterways once the snow and ice begin to melt." 

http://www.reyard.org/guidelines/

This has been an historic storm, and is straining our clean-up resources. Having said that, I was actually very impressed at how well my childrens' school was dug out.  Kudos to the many long hours of road and school clearing that have taken place.

(my grandfather drove a county snowplow in Ohio, and I remember well the long hours and occasional missed holiday dinners because of the battle to clean up after storms.  I promise you that no one who drives a snowplow or clears property for a living has had much sleep or seen much or their families since the storm began)

There are some issues that make my childrens' walk less safe, and we will be handling the walk to school differently until more of the snow melts (my independent young man has to walk with me until I say otherwise).  But I think that we have to expect some inconvenient changes until a few more days after such a major storm.  

Figure out what it takes to be safe...wear the boots and walk with them, park further away, bring them in late with a note, drop them off a different place...what changes are needed will vary by family, but we are not back to business as usual, and shouldn't be angry at anyone about that.

maple1234 said:

Today both my kids experienced dangerous conditions because of lack of snow removal around their schools.  Kids can't get in and out of the buildings or walk safely to and from the school.

My spouse dropped the kids off at school a bit early this morning. He cleared some snow when he got there with his hands and boots.... but chastised himself for forgetting to bring a shovel with him. 

Last year he brought a shovel and cleared the whole school playground of snow as his workout.  Some people might complain. Instead, I get to brag about my spouse's muscles.

I understand that the district does not contract directly for snow removal nor does it have sufficient equipment to self-perform for large storms.  The building custodians are expected to handle it, generally with shovels.  A tall order given the storm. 

We get what we pay for...

I dont know .. yesterday the op was upset about train stations not being shoveled, today the schools ... as so many have mentioned, this was a massive storm, and quite frankly it is unfair to the towns and the many dpw workers and contractors that have been working around the clock to have these unreasonable expectations of having every inch of surface perfectly plowed/shoveled .... my .02

It's called: winter. The snow removal around here has actually been quite impressive.  This was a historic storm that dumped a LOT of snow on us very quickly. They can't just press a button and make it go away. Take a drive outside of the M/SO borders if you want to appreciate how fast and efficient our DPW workers were as opposed to the surrounding area. 

But... I know that you just like to whine and complain, so carry on. (At least you didn't start with "for the amount of taxes I pay...")

I found that the school (CHS) grounds were OK but that the problem was that sidewalks along some of the streets kids use (e.g., Jefferson Ave.) were not completely cleared.  The stretch from approximately Walton to the railroad bridge was especially bad.  In these places, there is no choice but to walk in the street.

Things are getting better.  More sidewalks are cleared and school custodians are still working on the snow.

I agree that snow removal as a whole has been phenomenal for our towns, but it appears the district forgot about some of its properties.  I noticed the sidewalk in front of the high school parking lots on Parker (near the Y) remained uncleared last night,and the sidewalk in front of Underhill Field remained uncleared this morning.  I called the district about Underhill and the person I spoke to said it was the town's responsibility, which doesn't sound right.  She agreed to "make a call about it."

tjohn said:

Things are getting better.  More sidewalks are cleared and school custodians are still working on the snow.

This week of higher temperatures should help too. I've already noticed the piles decreasing a bit. Just hoping we don't end up with giant patches of ice...

grahamb said:

I agree that snow removal as a whole has been phenomenal for our towns, but it appears the district forgot about some of its properties.  I noticed the sidewalk in front of the high school parking lots on Parker (near the Y) remained uncleared last night,and the sidewalk in front of Underhill Field remained uncleared this morning.  I called the district about Underhill and the person I spoke to said it was the town's responsibility, which doesn't sound right.  She agreed to "make a call about it."

I agree that it doesn't sound right to expect the town to clear around Underhill, but it's been a bit of a no-man's land forever and has required neighbors to make calls (as you have done) for a long time.  We used to be able to let Kathy Leventhal know and she'd make things happen, but she's no longer on the TC.  : (

It's now 2:30 am and trucks have been hard at work dealing with snow removal on Maple Avenue, opposite MMS.