| Author |
Message |
    
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 54
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, December 8, 2002 - 3:25 pm: |     |
To whom it may concern in Maplewood officialdom:
The sidewalks beneath the railroad overpasses on Jefferson and W Parker have never been attended to in the winter in the many years I have lived here. I have brought this subject up to previous administrations only to be put off. "Not a good time to bring this up" claiming to be in "delicate" negotiations with NJT, was one response I got. Well, it's happening again. The snow is here, and they are unshoveled again.
Not to seem to be a petty complainer, it should be remembered that many students at Columbia must traverse these sidewalks 10 times a week. Do you recall the series of ice storms several years ago? Students and others had to leave the cleared sidewalks and cross through this problem area in the streets dodging traffic. For well over a month! We were lucky there was not an accident, but why is NJT getting away with this dangerous condition? Year after year after year.
If the town council will not address the problem in a timely manner this time, I would hope that the police would threaten to issue a citation to NJT to get some action going. I'm not asking for my own benefit, but I feel that a real safety issue is being ignored.
How about it, who is going to take responsibility for this easy to solve problem? We do have municipal regulations on this that are being ignored. |
Soda
Citizen
Username: Soda
Post Number: 837
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, December 9, 2002 - 7:58 am: | |
Three possible solution scenarios to this problem resulting from governmental inaction re: the above query...
A)Hey! It's gonna get into the 40's by Wednesday, so the ice/snow will just melt! Voila! Problem solved!
2)Some klutzy CHS student terrorist will slip on the icy sidewalk, land on his/her backpack containing two pounds of C-4 (originally intended to be detonated later in the day to protest his/her two forced studyhalls), and blow the entire overpass to smithereens, allowing the nice warm sunshine to melt the ice and snow. Voila! Problem solved! New problem: CHS students now must traverse rubble-strewn sidewalk for the rest of the school year while the FBI & ATF conduct their investigations.
C)Agile CHS running back (a recent transfer from Park Slope) decides to avoid the potential slip&slide problem by darting out into Parker Avenue to get around the ice. He puts a wicked shake&bake move on an approaching SUV, and appears to be in the clear, when he takes a brutal hit from the rear by the unseen VW just behind the SUV. Fortunately his parents are both attorneys. They sue the Township for negligence, personal injury, and emotional distress. By the time the suit is settled out of court, it's October. Ice & Snow are gone! Go Cougars! |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 63
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 9:51 am: | |
OK, it has been two months since my original post. The snow is here and these sidewalks are not cleared again. As far as I can tell, nothing has been done.
Has anyone in the town government given any thought to this problem? Any thought at all? The time for thinking is over, and we need action now.
The town records must indicate the owner of these sidewalks. They should have been contacted and notified of the need for proper maintainence.
If this "Official Maplewood" section of this board is to be of service, it should be for proper two-way communication, not just one-way. Will someone responsible in the town government please respond and tell me what is being done to resolve this condition. Thank you. |
vicdeluca
Citizen
Username: Vicdeluca
Post Number: 185
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 1:59 pm: | |
Your February message was received and I have given it to the Township Administrator for follow-up. Frankly I do not know who is responsible for snow removal under the bridge but will find out. |
rckymtn
Citizen
Username: Rckymtn
Post Number: 136
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 2:09 pm: | |
That's why I like the mayor -- someone like Giuliani would have said: "clean the stinking sidewalks yourself, do a favor for the town, instead of complaining about it, what would it take, a couple of hours?" It's funny, I kind of miss Guiliani, and I can almost hear him saying these words. |
vicdeluca
Citizen
Username: Vicdeluca
Post Number: 188
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 24, 2003 - 3:46 pm: | |
mrmaplewood
The DPW was asked to clear Jefferson and Parker during the last snow storm. There still are questions about who retains jurisdiction. We are still sorting it out. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 1442
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 24, 2003 - 4:29 pm: | |
Vic:
Was the DPW also asked to clear the snow under the Baker Street overpass? I tried to walk from the Village to the main library early Wednesday afternoon and found the going impossible because neither the area under the overpass nor the stretch of sidewalk between the overpass and the library had been cleared. As you know, the intersection of Baker Street and Maplewood Avenue is one of the most dangerous in town, even when the Moms with young children and strollers stay on the sidewalk. Some of the children I saw forced to walk in the street were shorter than the snowbanks they had to walk around.
Any help for future storms would be appreciated. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 66
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 24, 2003 - 5:22 pm: | |
Vicdeluca: And meantime no one has lifted a finger to shovel in a week. Why not do the work and if justified, bill the owner later? This is a dumb situation to delay on. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 67
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 27, 2003 - 4:58 pm: | |
Thanks, Vic. There has been some progress made. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 69
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 3, 2003 - 4:43 pm: | |
But not completion yet. Jefferson is good, but Parker is not. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 947
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 3, 2003 - 5:01 pm: | |
Hang in Mr. Maplewood. There is just 17 more days to the first day of Spring.  |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 71
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2003 - 10:39 am: | |
Vicdeluca:
Well the sidewalks are now cleared. Sorry to say that AJC was right about waiting for spring. The original post about this problem was Dec. 8, giving most of the winter to work on it. Only one of the two walks was cleared.
Your post about not knowing who is responsible for clearing them is vague to me. What is the problem, and is it still an active issue now that spring has arrived? I just don't want this to slip off the radar screen. That is why this problem has been recurrent year after year without attention. |
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