When a snow emergency is declared by Mayor Hagan, residents are asked to remove their cars from the Borough's main thoroughfares, the Borough's obligation to residents and business owners is to clear snow "curb-to-curb."
Not only did Borough plows not clear the snow curb-to-curb along any part of First Avenue, Main Street or Strasburg after the thunder-snow storm which blew through last week, but in the business district in the 400 block of First Avenue, Borough's snow plows left a wall of snow 3' deep and 4' or 5' wide between the street and businesses in their wake.
Their negligence all but removed 15-20 on street parking spots and forced patrons brave enough to park on the street to scale the plow drifts before going about their business.
The situation is only marginally better in the Main Street business district.
If Borough Council is serious about encouraging business to make Parkesburg their home, members of Council must do a better job clearing the snow across the borough but especially along the business districts along First Avenue and Main Street.
3 comments:
Ken,
As a resident of Main Street, not only am I frustrated by the poor plow job done by the borough - we had to dig through 3 feet of compacted snow on the street side to find our curb - but also by some of the residents and lack of action by the borough.
Several homes have never been shoveled this winter. Not only are the sidewalks dangerous - try to get from Route 10 to Rocca and Anna's - but that means parking has not been cleared either.
These storms have also made many people become incredibly territorial. Like I said I live on Main Street. Last week I parked my car on Route 10. When I returned to my car after the storm, a resident who was unhappy that I dared to park near his home, plowed in the front end of my car. When I didn't move my car fast enough out of "his space", he parked his vehicle inches from my back bumper and refused to move it.
So, I ask, where, exactly, are we residents unfortunate enough to live on Main Street, especially those of us with small children, supposed to park our cars during a snow emergency? Somehwere that isn't 7 blocks away, that we won't have to walk in the street on Route 10 to get to and where we won't be verbally assaulted by territorial neighbors? Wouldn't it make sense to let us leave our cars on one side of Main Street?
Ken, I want to echo your sentiments. We clear about 200 feet of street/sidewalk in front of the funeral home (on the South side of Main). We simply push the excess snow onto our own property, but the snow on the north side of Main we leave untouched because there's no where to push it.
When we have a large funeral -- after our two lots are full -- parking can get pretty sketchy. People are always kind and generous at funerals, but I fear the lack of parking after these snow storms will one day lead to an accident of sorts.
So, even though I recognize the problem, I don't really have any constructive answer ... unless the boro uses a front end loader and a dump truck to remove the excess snow completely from the street.
Last week's snow of 12" was heavy and wet with a layer of ice in the mix, not the easiest snow to plow or shovel. The goal is always to clear the streets as much as possible. Any of you who have served on a Streets Committee of local government know each storm brings challenges that can be anticipated but not controlled. Narrow sidewalks in some places of the business district are a problem. There is a fine line between plowing curb to curb and hindering shoveling by throwing snow in the sidewalks. In some spots there is simply nowhere for the snow to go. Everyone understands front end loaders can only be used in extreme cases. Residents were firm about holding the line on spending and not raising taxes in 2011.
In the future if you, or any other resident, have questions or concerns regarding plowing, or any issue involving the Borough, please call Borough Hall or any Council member. We are here to serve!
-Parkesburg Borough Council
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