With warm spring weather almost certain to arrive in Minnesota by, oh, mid-May, this post may come a little late in the meteorological game, but oh well. One of the many spin-off impacts of the mortgage crisis can be seen in winter, when numerous vacant houses are left with no responsible person to clear the snow from the sidewalks, as required by a Minneapolis City Ordinance...
Twenty-four hours after the last snow storm ended, I walked around part of North Minneapolis and found a bunch of vacant lots where sidewalk snow shoveling hadn't taken place since, oh, I'm thinking about 2007. I must have made about five calls to 311 on vacant lots and boarded houses.
Of course, making 311 calls wasn't the PURPOSE of my walk. In fact, I was just going to the grocery store. But I don't JUST walk to the grocery store or JUST drive to my friend's house. If I'm out and about for any significant period of time, a trail of official paperwork is sure to follow.
Why did the slumlord get a letter from the city? Why did graffiti get abated by a work crew? Why did a group of ten minors out after curfew get a visit from a squad car? Because John Hoff said to himself, "Huh, I really need to go buy a 2 liter bottle of Dr. Pepper."
The photo at the bottom shows "where the sidewalk ends." Well, not really. I"m sure there's sidewalk under there somewhere. At the top, here is an illustration of improper sidewalk-clearing technique. Note how the cleared area is precisely the width of a snow shovel. Just to be clear on this point: sidewalks are MUCH WIDER.
However, I don't make 311 calls over "badly cleared" sidewalks. The way I see it, I'll prioritize and go after the "big fish." I'll turn a blind eye to somebody who at least made an effort. But, yeah, then I'll take a picture and put it on my blog and say: I hope that half-assed shoveling job wasn't how sonny-boy earned his allowance.
Johnny, we are glad that you have joined the loose knit groups of die hard northsiders that don't just go for a walk, drive to work or drive home or go the the store, etc. There are those of us who have been dealing with graffiti
ReplyDeletedrug dealing, boom boxes, assaults, attempted rapes,robberies, burglaries, etc etc ad nauseum for decades. We have run dealers, customers, criminals and prositutes out of the neighborhood. We have been the focus of their wrath and vengeance and harrassment. We have hung in there anyway. We're a tough and eclectic and eccentric group of die hards. We are glad to add you to the list of "do gooders" but please don't think this is "new" to our neighborhood or you are a "one man show". A lot of us do appreciate your info and input and energy. Remember We've been here too and most of us could tell you stories that would raise your hair.
You should go ahead and use these comment boxes to tell those hair-raising stories.
ReplyDeleteI think when one does something and ALSO publishes the story, it has more of an impact and inspires others to think "I'm not alone, others do that stuff, too."
So that's why I publish stuff like that. I wish there were a way to know 311 "rankings" for frequent callers. I think that kind of feedback would inspire even more 311 reports.
nice pics! its a common problem.
ReplyDeleteEven in deep South Minneapolis where nearly everyone owns and lives in their single-family house, people still push the damn shovel once through the sidewalk. I love carefully walking sideways like a crab to get to the store or the bus stop because someone so graciously shoveled a foot and a half wide path.
ReplyDeleteHow much do you suppose it would cost for the city to clear sidewalks the way they clear streets?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think, in this time of budget crises, there hasn't been a proposal that individual property owners be responsible for clearing the city streets that adjoin their property?