The Observation Deck

How about this for an idea:

Equip those cute little cushmans with snow blades, and instead of tooling up and down the STREETS as they make their backyard pickup rounds, they drive down the SIDEWALKS, clearing as they go! What the heck, they could probably clear the drives as they went to the back for the garbage.

Jeff

Can we put it to a vote? Either back yard trash pick up or winter snow removal? The $ saved from less sanitation guys in cushmans can buy another leaf sucker truck instead of paying for 2 garbage trucks,two front end loaders,a street sweeper and 5 guys with gas powered blowers currently used to pick up leaves. Not included is what it costs to return to fix tree lawns damaged by the front end loaders.

Jason I think every sidewalk in the city should be plowed, for two reasons.

First, unplowed sidewalks are (at best) really inconvenient and (at worst) very dangerous. Last night I watched several people walking/jogging in the street! I watched folks struggle to walk on uneven, icy sidewalks. Someday someone is going to be badly hurt. Trashcans on the treelawn and uncut grass are not dangerous. Like I said it may be the law but it's NOT HAPPENING.

Second, and really the point of my post above. Lakewood is not going to extricate itself from its fiscal woes with cuts here and cuts there. Lakewood needs to think much longer term, and market itself to individuals and families who want to live in a city like Lakewood. To do this you assess what you have that's unique and marketable, and you leverage that. Lakewood does not do that well. People who want to live in a city like Lakewood are choosing Cleveland Heights, etc. As I said Lakewood has several unique characteristics, one of which is its population density. Population density can help us offer services that other communities cannot. Services such as sidewalk plowing, neighborhood schools, wireless internet access, walkability, etc. Such services/amenities can help attract residents to Lakewood. Residents who move here, stay here, and pay taxes here. That's how you solve Lakewood's fiscal situation. I think Nikki's arts district and Mark's ParkPlace can also help attract residents who want to live in a city like Lakewood. Those are cultural amenities that are attractive to the kind of people who want to live in a city like Lakewood. Are they “neededâ€Â￾? Strictly speaking, no. But I believe they *are* needed, to make Lakewood more attractive to people who might otherwise choose Cleveland Heights, or Detroit-Shoreway.

I'm sure the folks in City Hall are bright, and I'm sure they want what's best for Lakewood. But they are too burdened by day-to-day minutia to conceive a long-term vision for Lakewood. Such a vision is badly needed. The Grow Lakewood report was a very good start. My wish list for the Lakewood brand? A clearly articulated vision of what makes Lakewood unique and special, and a City Hall that works hard everyday to leverage and market that vision. If we had that vision, everything else would fall right into place. The bike racks, the “French Quarterâ€Â￾, the farmer's market, the parades, the boutiques, the soccer, all of it. That's my wish.

Can we put it to a vote? Either back yard trash pick up or winter snow removal?

John

I dare say that IF you could put it to a vote, it would be entirely season dependent (beyond the minimal turnout you could expect in the winter due to dangerous, icy conditions).

Right about now, I think the clear majority would vote for snow removal. Come the heat of August, a majority would rather not see the garbage on the tree lawns. Hence my compromise.

Jeff

Mr. Endress,
As the resident attorney, maybe you could provide some insight on this. I understand that sidewalk maintenance (generally level, free of large cracks, etc.) is each homeowner's responsibility. However, my question is that should these plowing machines do damage to the concrete can the homeowner seek payment for damages from the city for using the sidewalks in a manner that they weren't intended? Just curious.

Jason

Jason

I would think that if city vehicles damage any homeowner property that the city would be responsible...garbage truck rear ends you, cushman takes down your fence, etc. The same should hold true for the sidewalks, PROVIDED that the damage was not pre-existing, or that a known, pre-existing defect (grossly uneven sidewalk as an example) was not the cause of the damage. While there could certainly be some potential liability, it would be limited to repair of the damage (replacing a sidewalk square). Really shouldn't be a major financial consideration.

Jeff "stop calling me Mr. Endress, that was my father" Endress

Seems that the discussion has drifted from the businesses being responsible for their sidewalks to how the city can provide more service. The fact is that if the property owner is negligent it's their liability not the city's. I think we can all agree that property taxes are high enough already. Asking the city to find a way to add more services seems counter productive.

I'm sure that there is someone out there that would be happy to collect a fee from these business owners who don't want to shovel their walkways. With a string of businesses up and down the business districts I'm sure it would be a profitable venture.

Shawn Juris wrote:Seems that the discussion has drifted from the businesses being responsible for their sidewalks to how the city can provide more service. The fact is that if the property owner is negligent it's their liability not the city's. I think we can all agree that property taxes are high enough already. Asking the city to find a way to add more services seems counter productive.

I'm sure that there is someone out there that would be happy to collect a fee from these business owners who don't want to shovel their walkways. With a string of businesses up and down the business districts I'm sure it would be a profitable venture.

Shawn

Thank you, common sense prevails.

What we all have to understand is exactly what Shawn has said. The city is tapped out. If we like Lakewood, if we work or live in Lakewood, time to grab an oar and start rowing. This is not a bad thing.

What I find refreshing is that so many people have become energized to do just that.


.

Last night we went out for cheap wings. We were unable to park in the lot of the business we were patronizing and finally found a spot on Lewis, just south of Madison. Since the light was against us when we wanted to cross, we decided to walk along the south side of Madison for a block, towards Chesterland. Big mistake. The sidewalk was a mess. It didn't look as though it had seen a shovel or salt and the icy mess was very difficult to traverse.

I don't like walking in the street at night, particularly since I tend to favor dark clothing, so we took our baby steps to try to stay upright until it was safe to cross the street.

A path had been shoveled on the north side of Madison. The entire sidewalk wasn't cleared, but at least there was some clean dry sidewalk.

Shame on the building owners on the south side of Madison from Lewis to Chesterland for not making arrangements to clear the sidewalk. Snow at this time of the year is hardly something unexpected.