The Observation Deck

Kudos to City Hall for one hell of a job today! I thought the streets were in very good condition for the morning and evening commutes. Left the house at 5:00 a.m., conditions were nasty,and our main streets were salted and plowed. Thanks for the stress free driving.

Good teamwork at 12650 Detroit Ave.



Scott Meeson

You must not have been on Elbur. I'm usually pretty happy with the snow removal around here, but it is ridiculous over here. Most of the cars cleared out on Friday to leave room for plowing and it never happened. I left for the night and when I came back this morning I expected it to be better, but I can't even think about parking on the street.

Rockway 4:23 pm Sunday, damn near impassable with 4 massive sink holes(bigger than
chuck holes) hiding on the west side of the street to cut tires and ruin alignment.



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Hello Readers of the Deck,

For all of you who would like to see the snow shoveling situation improved around our schools and within our neighborhoods, you are invited to a “snow” get together on Friday March 4th starting at 7pm at the Beck Café. Come, relax, and have a cup of coffee along with fellow Lakewoodites while we figure out how we can effectively (!) address the snow removal issue in our community. Spread the word! All are welcome! (Coffee courtesy of the Lakewood Observer & Beck Café)

See You Friday Night!

Jim O'Bryan wrote:
Rockway 4:23 pm Sunday, damn near impassable with 4 massive sink holes(bigger than
chuck holes) hiding on the west side of the street to cut tires and ruin alignment.
.

I am wondering and will try to find out. If there is anyway to create a better environment on the streets in
regards to plowing. It seems like an endless circle of wasted money. Fix the pot holes, then every winter
plow them back in. It would seem there just has to be a better way. Decades ago when I worked at a car
dealership we used to looked forward to the first couple snows, as everyone would hit curbs and need
alignments, and those that escaped hitting the curb would almost always be back in the spring because they
hit chuck holes that broke rims, ball joints or screwed up alignments. Just hast to be a better way.

FWIW

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Jim O'Bryan wrote:
Rockway 4:23 pm Sunday, damn near impassable with 4 massive sink holes(bigger than
chuck holes) hiding on the west side of the street to cut tires and ruin alignment.
.

I am wondering and will try to find out. If there is anyway to create a better environment on the streets in
regards to plowing. It seems like an endless circle of wasted money. Fix the pot holes, then every winter
plow them back in. It would seem there just has to be a better way. Decades ago when I worked at a car
dealership we used to looked forward to the first couple snows, as everyone would hit curbs and need
alignments, and those that escaped hitting the curb would almost always be back in the spring because they
hit chuck holes that broke rims, ball joints or screwed up alignments. Just hast to be a better way.

FWIW

A good start although not a final solution is drive slow and be cautious...the street are 25 mph after all and it is snowing. Pot holes occurring really should be no suprise for Cleveland area residents, right?.

Another idea is to get cars off the street when snow drops heavily so the plows can do a 'good' job of clearing the street....especially the more narrow ones. This will make holes more visible and driving on the street easier.

J Hrlec wrote:Another idea is to get cars off the street when snow drops heavily so the plows can do a 'good' job of clearing the street....especially the more narrow ones. This will make holes more visible and driving on the street easier.

The majority of cars were off of my street all day Friday and they didn't come by at all. For the entire weekend, I had to keep my car out of the street because I had no choice--there was too much snow to park there.

Heather Ramsey wrote:

J Hrlec wrote:Another idea is to get cars off the street when snow drops heavily so the plows can do a 'good' job of clearing the street....especially the more narrow ones. This will make holes more visible and driving on the street easier.

The majority of cars were off of my street all day Friday and they didn't come by at all. For the entire weekend, I had to keep my car out of the street because I had no choice--there was too much snow to park there.

Sorry to hear they "missed" your street...but it doesn't negate the need. Fortunately, cars were clear from my street and the plows cleaned it well.

We have these problems because we have winters; water gets into tiny cracks in the street, freezes, and enlarges the cracks. After a few cycles, the pavement is so weakened that we get big holes. I don't think the plows cause much of the problem; it is repeated traffic over deteriorating pavement that is the culprit.

Warm weather areas, such as California, don't have much of a problem at all. Their paving lasts much longer than ours. So I think if we eliminated the freeze/thaw cycles. we would have much longer lasting pavement, which would save us a lot of money.

I've long thought that solar power could work in this situation. If we buried heating elements in the pavement and powered them with a small solar array, the snow would never freeze. we would not have to plow. and we would not have to repave so often. You wouldn't need much energy as you wouldn't have to keep the streets at high temperatures; just a bit above freezing would work. One big question, of course, is how much such a system would cost; and would the savings equal the cost, or at least come close.

Another consideration is why we plow (especially why we plow the streets into everyone's driveway)? We don't plow the garbage; we don't plow the leaves. Why can't they clear the streets with some type of loader, put the snow in a truck, and dump it in an appropriate area?

Heather Ramsey wrote:

J Hrlec wrote:Another idea is to get cars off the street when snow drops heavily so the plows can do a 'good' job of clearing the street....especially the more narrow ones. This will make holes more visible and driving on the street easier.

The majority of cars were off of my street all day Friday and they didn't come by at all. For the entire weekend, I had to keep my car out of the street because I had no choice--there was too much snow to park there.

Is the street a Snow Emergency street? The city probably needs to prioritize main routes and Snow Emergency streets. Maybe they just didn't have a chance to come through?

Bryan Schwegler wrote:Is the street a Snow Emergency street? The city probably needs to prioritize main routes and Snow Emergency streets. Maybe they just didn't have a chance to come through?

It is not one of the important ones, but I would think that after 3 days, they could get around to it...If the rain storm hadn't come, I'd still not be able to park on it.

Heather Ramsey wrote:

Bryan Schwegler wrote:Is the street a Snow Emergency street? The city probably needs to prioritize main routes and Snow Emergency streets. Maybe they just didn't have a chance to come through?

It is not one of the important ones, but I would think that after 3 days, they could get around to it...If the rain storm hadn't come, I'd still not be able to park on it.

I think everyone knew the snow was coming on Friday followed by higher temps and rain, including the City. Higher temps and rain melt snow. In a city looking at ways to trim costs, it's no surprise the plows weren't out Saturday and Sunday to clear away the remnants. Why pay people time and a half or double time when Mother Nature will take care of if in a couple days? However, I think if it stayed cold there would have been crews out this weekend.

Bryan Schwegler wrote:Is the street a Snow Emergency street? The city probably needs to prioritize main routes and Snow Emergency streets. Maybe they just didn't have a chance to come through?

First I think for the most part the crews did a good job, though some streets are even a mess at 4 pm today.

I live on a snow ban street and everyone had the cars off of it, but for the damdest reason the plow kept coming
back going from east to west all night long, so the other side was never done.

Charlie, I can buy the cutting expenses, but lets see what they decide to spend money on this year. We are taking
trash to the curb to blow all over, and leave the city looking like it is in a constant garbage day. We are cutting
services and even police and fire. Now we are skipping plowing. This city was known for great services, which
are part of a great living experience. I hope we did not throw the baby out with the bath water these past couple
years for some bullet points on a campaign brochure.

FWIW


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Jim O'Bryan wrote:Charlie, I can buy the cutting expenses, but lets see what they decide to spend money on this year. We are taking
trash to the curb to blow all over, and leave the city looking like it is in a constant garbage day. We are cutting
services and even police and fire. Now we are skipping plowing. This city was known for great services, which
are part of a great living experience. I hope we did not throw the baby out with the bath water these past couple
years for some bullet points on a campaign brochure.

You get what you pay for...or do you?

Individually, we are paying more in taxes and fees than we ever have.

Collectively, we are getting less.

Many reasons why.