[RP TownTalk] Question on street clearing

[David Hiles]

My messages to this list are being moderated because I was judged to 
have violated the posting standards.
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Not so long ago, the problem of the sidewalks of some publicly owned 
parcels not being shoveled was raised during a council discussion of 
how to make Riverdale Park a more walkable town.  There were several 
areas in town that were identified as being in the unshoveled category. 
  Some are on paths to Metro, others to the MARC station or to the 
elementary school.  The school system is completely tuned into clearing 
its property, and it does a good job.   The other public lots could be 
shoveled by the town, but the consensus was that this activity was not 
covered by the existing budget.  About the time that discussion 
concluded, the council stopped working and started campaigning.  Then a 
new council came in and had to pass a budget under a time crunch.

Unshoveled public lots is still is a problem.  I walk to the MARC 
station myself, sometimes unsafely down the middle of Lafayette if 
conditions demand it.  One way to fix this town dis-amenity would be to 
add funding to Public Works to cover this work.   But again, it is 
almost time for the next election.  Sure would be nice if we had a 
council whose members served a staggered set of four year terms.