Greater City Providence
Announcement from the Mayor’s Office regarding snow removal:
Public Service Announcement: Snow-Covered Sidewalks Pose Signficant Safety Hazard
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Providence community urged to follow City Ordinance on Snow RemovalThe National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for a potent, fast-moving storm forecast to affect Providence this afternoon and tomorrow morning. The storm is expected to cause 6 to 10 inches of heavy, wet snowfall. Snow removal on City sidewalks continues to be a challenge for our community.
With additional accumulations expected this week, it is important that everyone take responsibility for making sure sidewalks are safe and passable. This is especially important to ensure the safety of children who walk to school, and the many pedestrians who regularly walk in Providence.
Providence City Ordinance requires that property owners must shovel sidewalks within eight hours after snow stops falling. The fine for failing to shovel the sidewalks ranges from $25 to $500.
Snow-free sidewalks are more than a convenience; they are a matter of public safety. Property owners are urged to shovel sidewalks as soon as possible. For fire safety purposes, property owners should not rebury fire hydrants after they have been dug out.
Residents concerned about unsafe sidewalks should call the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services at 401-421-2489, or report their concerns directly via the City of Providence’s website, at ProvConnex. ProvConnex is the City’s online dashboard that provides residents with access to dozens of City services.
Jef Nickerson
when trying to access the ProvConnex site:
“[404]
Page not found on City of Providence web site”
That’s because the website in the press release was wrong. Fixed.
There’s also a direct link currently at the top of our sidebar, over to the right.
Oh yeah, they’re doing a bang up job of clearing their own snow. I note the overpasses to I-95, city properties btw, aren’t cleared yet. In fact they were never cleared. I notified Councilor Bryan Principe and the answer is, the city doesn’t have the equipment.
Odd since last year I emailed John Lombardi and the NEXT DAY the sidewalks on the overpass on both Atwells and Broadway were CLEAR! So SOMEONE has the gear.
Well, for Atwells and Broadway for the very least, Dominca Manor has little sidewalk plows and snow blowers and such. Dominca Manor is public housing, isn’t it?
Also, there seems to still be some contention about if the bridges are the state’s or city’s responsibility (personally, I don’t care, they are in the city, the Mayor/City Council should just ensure they are done). If it is the state’s responsibility, the Dunk/Convention Center has much snow removal equipment, and that is owned by the state.
If the bridges were within the DID boundaries, the DID would just do it. If we had an improvement district on Federal Hill, we could have the same sidewalk clearage as Downcity. But really, we shouldn’t need that.
I’ve been reporting homes and businesses in my neighborhood that don’t properly remove snow from the sidewalks. Perhaps I should be nice to the people on my street, but I don’t care at this point. My wife, among many other people, walk up and down our street every day to get to the bus or to work. They are forced into the street, which is much narrower than it is without the snow, making it that much more unsafe. They are forced into a street that doesn’t get plowed very often, making it less safe than the sidewalks that have been cleared.
I really hope this press release means the city is actually gonna grow a pair and start fining property owners. I reported 7 properties the other day. I got one response back from the city saying they forwarded my report of the unshoveled sidewalk in front of a personal injury lawyer’s office to the district lieutenant. No reponse on the other reports. I’ll be reporting the same places again tomorrow (8 hours after the snow stops, of course) I’m sure. The problem on my street is not ability or disability, it’s laziness and absentee landlords.
@Runaway Jim: I’d love to see a picture of sidewalk in front of the personal injury attorney.
To help direct the pedestrians of Providence in how to deal with unshoveled sidewalks, I’ve created my own PSA in response to the Mayor’s announcement:
http://carfreepvd.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/public-service-announcement-walk-right-er-left/
I’ll have to see if I can get out there tomorrow after work. It’s not likely though. However, I have a feeling the sidewalk will remain unshoveled. I have no faith that the city will do anything. I’m sure the lawyers are friends with a cop and the cop will just say “haha, those silly people think we actually do something with these reports” and they’ll have a good laugh together as the plow clears out their parking lot and pushes it all onto the sidewalk.