| Author |
Message |
    
RR
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 78
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 1:46 pm: | 
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I have two questions for you guys.
Are homeowners required by law to shovel or remove the snow from the sidewalk in front of or around their house? Or is the snow removal by 95% of Maplewoodians common courtesy? I was honked at several times and almost hit by a car when I had to walk in the gutter of the street because my neighbors didn't remove the snow around their house. Walking a small dog in 15 inches of snow doesn't work.
My other question is regarding parking a second car in a one car driveway whereby the second car is parked through the sidewalk to the edge of the street making the sidewalk impassable. I'm struggling with leaving a note for 2 neighbors with huge SUV's that park through the sidewalk making it necessary to come out into the street without seeing if any cars are careening down my hill. It is especially unnerving when i am walking my dog early in the morning or at night. Is there a procedure in place for reporting this kind of stuff? I ordinarily wouldn't complain but me and my dog's safety are starting to be more important than not ruffling a neighbor's feathers. Please comment!! |
redY67
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 593
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 1:49 pm: |
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Homeowners are definitely required to shovel. If they don't they can be issued a ticket by the town.
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ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 3339
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 2:18 pm: |
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I also don't think you can park on the sidewalk. Ask your neighbor if he can move it. Certainly they must have a garage? |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 264
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 2:18 pm: |
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It's great that you are planning to let your neighbors know that their parking is creating a problem for you...I wonder if letting them know in person (& introducing yourself if you have not truly met) might make them more likely to respond in a positive & helpful/neighborly way? Maybe not...but it might be easier to disregard or misconstrue a note. Just a thought.
Regarding the snow, I have found with past neighbors that offering help in case they are unable/ill has worked (though you have to be ready to follow through on truly helping & not just hinting, as I've had my offers accepted before!).
Best of luck
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RR
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 80
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 2:37 pm: |
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All 3 neighbors have garages and none of them use them. All 3 neighbors are long-time residents. I don't think they are used to new up-starts in the neighborhood. The snow shoveling culprits are new neighbors, not elderly.
If I wanted advice on how to go about dealing with my neighbor-created problems I think I would have worded my original post differently. I am an adult. I simply asked if there were township rules in place about my questions. When and if I decide to do something about how my neighbors have created a problem for me I will do it in a way that I am comfortable with.
Thanks for the answers to my questions, but no thanks to suggestions on how to deal with the neighbors who have precipitated the inquiry. |
thegoodsgt
Citizen
Username: Thegoodsgt
Post Number: 751
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 2:55 pm: |
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Regarding ticketing of offenders, who does it? The police or another department? And what would prompt them to do so? |
RR
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 81
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 2:57 pm: |
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Also, as far as I'm concerned, if a neighbor doesn't shovel or parks the car on the sidewalk, they obviously don't give a hoot about the inconvenience or safety of anyone but themselves. That disregard for common courtesy deserves a boot in the rear, from the town or the police. |
Wendyn
Supporter
Username: Wendyn
Post Number: 1346
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3:07 pm: |
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If you as a resident didn't know that shoveling snow and parking on sidewalks was against a town ordinance, how would you expect your neighbors (especially the new ones) to know?
And by putting "Please comment!!" in your post it indicates (to me at least) that you are looking for suggestions as to how to deal with the situation. |
Sis2790
Citizen
Username: Sis2790
Post Number: 5
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3:07 pm: |
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Simmer down RR! Those were just friendly suggestions. (Good luck with the neighbors.) |
cmontyburns
Citizen
Username: Cmontyburns
Post Number: 683
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3:10 pm: |
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"If I wanted advice on how to go about dealing with my neighbor-created problems I think I would have worded my original post differently. I am an adult."
Your original post said "Please comment!!" You got comments. No one was rude. You can always learn something by listening to what others have to say. You are, as an adult, free to reject that knowledge.
But this is a discussion board. People discuss. It's one of the risks of participation. |
softparade
Citizen
Username: Softparade
Post Number: 78
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3:22 pm: |
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Based on my experience- You can contact the Maplewood police about the SUV blocking the street- The unshoveled walk is a Township matter for code enforcement- you need to call Town Hall 12 hours after the last flake and they should send out an official.
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RR
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 82
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3:28 pm: |
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Wendy and cmonty, "Please comment", as in, yes, these are both against township rules. That was what I was looking for, not suggestions about how to be a good neighbor. As I said above, the parking culprits are longtime residents (my immediate neighbors told me) and the snow-shoveling culprit is new but right on the corner of a major street where everyone else on either side and all the way down the street had shoveled.
When I fell and almost got hit by a car, or when I fell and hurt my back, or when I had to walk around an SUV on the sidewalk and a car had to swerve out of the way and scare the crap out of me, I cursed under my breath and thought there must be something that can be done besides awkwardly knocking on a stranger's door and trying to hold back my anger.
Easy for everyone to say that the PC thing to do is skip up the walkway with a smile and a flower to ask politely to move the FREEKIN HUGE SUV off the sidewalk.
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Walker
Citizen
Username: Fester
Post Number: 62
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3:29 pm: |
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In South Orange the sidewalks should be clear of snow and ice no later than 12 day light hours after the snowfall. |
RR
Citizen
Username: Rogers4317
Post Number: 84
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3:35 pm: |
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Thank you one and all. Now I know that if someone doesn't shovel the sidewalk within 12 hours of the last snowflake falling I can call the Town Hall if I feel like protecting my life. And I also now know that I can contact the police department regarding the cars blocking the sidewalks. Thanks again to those of you that answered my questions.  |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 3341
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 4:33 pm: |
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"thought there must be something that can be done besides awkwardly knocking on a stranger's door and trying to hold back my anger." Yeah, like taking out your anger on little innocent MOL posters Hurry up, dammit, and call the police!!! |
Bobkat
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 7540
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 6:07 pm: |
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........just don't expect to be invited to the block party next summer. |
Amie Brockway-Metcalf
Citizen
Username: Amie
Post Number: 169
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 6:38 pm: |
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We walk our kiddo to day care every day in a stroller. It's only about 7 blocks, but we have to do most of it in the road because of no shovelling or an exact 12-inch path made by a snowblower. I'm thinking about making one of those day-glo vests to wear that says "the speed limit is 25, moron!" |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 266
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 8:03 pm: |
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Sorry, RR, I (& perhaps others) misunderstood what you were seeking. For rules/regs & no commentary, maybe a call to town hall next time would avoid the unnecessary & infantilizing responses by which you were so offended. Clearly you have the adult/neighborly thing covered...
For the record, I wasn't offering advice on how to be a nice neighbor necessarily. Rather, I was stating my opinion on how to achieve results (while also maintaining relations) - so even if being a good neighbor is not a goal, seemed that bringing about change was, based on your original query.
Good luck with the situation. |
Mrs T
Citizen
Username: Netjack
Post Number: 33
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 8:59 am: |
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FYI- I was at the SO Village Hall enquiring about enlarging my driveway in the back of the house (No Way!!) and fell into chatting with a fellow SO resident. While grousing about their regulations, it came up that it is illegal to park between your house and the sidewalk, not just on the sidewalk. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 5428
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 1:29 pm: |
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If you discuss this with your neighbors, you might decide -- even mutually -- that this problem is easy to solve. They deserve your anger, but you might, for some reason, decide not to give it to them once you meet them. Once you meet them, they may decide to make an effort to accomodate you by complying with laws, and they may even want to go above and beyond that. If, instead, their introduction to you is a citation, they may not be as helpful.
Sometimes meeting face to face solves a lot of problems.
If this advice isn't worth anything to you, I'll give you double your money back. |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 4912
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 5:17 pm: |
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Mrs T:
What do South Orange residents do if they live on a corner and their driveway does not extend beyond the house line? |
argon_smythe
Citizen
Username: Argon_smythe
Post Number: 530
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 9:08 pm: |
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I have to ask, why didn't you just call town hall and ask them what the rule was in the first place?
Please comment...
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Mrs T
Citizen
Username: Netjack
Post Number: 37
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 8:55 am: |
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I'm not sure what to do, but what you're supposed to do and actually do are 2 very different things. I'm not allowed to enlarge my driveway (in the back) at all, but 3 houses down they paved the entire backyard!! No grass, trees or bushes. So then I asked it I could put stones down and was told no, I replied that stones are landscaping... yes, but if you park on them it's not allowed they said. Go figure. I seems the rules are arbitrarily enforced. |
Joe
Citizen
Username: Gonets
Post Number: 690
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 10:03 am: |
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Mrs T
Are you sure that they're even enforced. I would imagine that you could put stone down and park on it without anyone noticing. I'm sure that most homes are in violation of some arcane regulation.
Why don't you just put the rocks down and see if you can get away with parking on it once in a while? If you have relative privacy in the back yard, I'd think that you'll get away with it. |
cmontyburns
Citizen
Username: Cmontyburns
Post Number: 686
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 11:12 am: |
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Why should the town care if there are stones in your backyard?
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Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 4918
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 5:06 pm: |
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Mrs. T:
It is also possible that your neighbor's parking arrangement predates the ordinance.
If you are not allowed to put down paving or stones in your back yard, are you allowed to park on the grass back there? |
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