Snow Removal Priorities

When the big snow of 1/31/21 - 2/2/21 stopped, I took a walk Downtown with my kids. DPW (Department of Public Works) staff did a great job keeping every street's driving lanes clear. Motor vehicles were moving freely. Most neighbors had shoveled their sidewalks. Getting past corners, though, required climbing over piles of snow created by DPW.

Eventually, we came across DPW front loaders on Beekman Ave, scooping snow from parking spaces into dump trucks run by contractors. The crews generally don't touch the crosswalks, even though they're right there. (As shown in these two photos from New Broadway on the following day.)

Prioridades de remoción de nieve

Cuando la gran nevada del 31/1/21 - 2/2/21 se detuvo, di un paseo por el centro con mis hijos. El personal de DPW (departamento de obras publicas) hizo un gran trabajo al mantener despejados los carriles de conducción de todas las calles. Los vehículos de motor se movían libremente. La mayoría de los vecinos habían limpiado las aceras. Sin embargo, pasar las esquinas requería trepar sobre montones de nieve creados por DPW

Finalmente, nos encontramos con cargadores frontales DPW en Beekman Ave, que recogían nieve de los espacios de estacionamiento y los colocaban en camiones de volteo manejados por contratistas. Las cuadrillas generalmente no tocan los cruces peatonales, aunque están allí. (Como se muestra en estas dos fotos de New Broadway al día siguiente.)

DPW staff using a front loader to clear snow from parking spaces on New Broadway by Maple St.

New Broadway @ Maple St, s/e corner, after the DPW left. Snow on the corners was not removed. The machine's operator inadvertently pushed snow into the path that had been generously shoveled out by the property owner several times.

While property owners have to shovel sidewalks that run next to streets (per Village Code), they are under no obligation to clear crosswalks. Crosswalks are part of the street, which is the Village's job.

So I contacted Village staff and elected officials. I thanked everyone for their hard work keeping driving lanes clear, then respectfully requested exploring ways to prioritize access and safety of people ahead of car storage spots. The head of Sleepy Hollow's DPW disrespectfully declined.

A neighbor explained why this matters. She's 70 years old and needs a cane to get around. Walking is how she usually travels to medical appointments, but the snow mounds at street corners prevented her from doing so last week. Her apprehension was wise. Falls are the #1 cause of injury death for people 65 and over, accounting for more deaths than the other 9 leading causes combined (2018).

To create safe conditions for people walking to school and Open Door Medical Center, I went out Wednesday morning to shovel the crosswalks on Broadway from New Broadway to Depeyster St. Here's a video of this by Open Door.

Come Friday morning, I sent an email to friends asking who wants to help clear crosswalks in Downtown that afternoon. Some amazing snow angels showed up and we got a lot done. Over the following days, I put in a few more hours. Below are before and after photos documenting many of these efforts.

Mientras que los propietarios tienen que limpiar con pala las aceras que corren junto a las calles (según el Código de aldea), no tienen la obligación de despejar los cruces peatonales. Los cruces peatonales son parte de la calle, que es el trabajo de Village.

Entonces me comuniqué con el personal de Village y los funcionarios electos. Agradecí a todos por su arduo trabajo para mantener despejados los carriles de conducción, luego solicité respetuosamente explorar formas de priorizar el acceso y la seguridad de las personas antes de los lugares de almacenamiento de automóviles. El director del DPW de Sleepy Hollow declinó irrespetuosamente.

Un vecino explicó por qué esto importa. Tiene 70 años y necesita un bastón para moverse. Caminar es la forma en que suele viajar a las citas médicas, pero los montículos de nieve en las esquinas le impidieron hacerlo la semana pasada. Su aprensión fue sabia. Las caídas son la principal causa de muerte por lesiones en personas de 65 años o más, y representan más muertes que las otras 9 causas principales combinadas (2018).

Para crear condiciones seguras para las personas que caminan a la escuela y al Open Door Medical Center, salí el miércoles por la mañana a limpiar los pasos de peatones en Broadway desde New Broadway hasta Depeyster St. Aquí hay un video de Open Door.

El viernes por la mañana, envié un correo electrónico a mis amigos preguntando quién quiere ayudar a despejar los cruces peatonales en el centro esa tarde. Aparecieron unos increíbles ángeles de nieve y hicimos mucho. Durante los días siguientes, dediqué algunas horas más. A continuación se muestran fotos de antes y después que documentan muchos de estos esfuerzos.

Snow piled up at a street corner. Three people are shoveling it out.

Before: Washington St @ Chestnut St, n/w corner (Robertson Park)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile. A person is walking through it.

After: Washington St @ Chestnut St, n/w corner (Robertson Park)
Snow piled up at a street corner. Two people are shoveling the snow out of the crosswalk.

Before: Washington St @ Chestnut St, s/e corner

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile. Three people who helped shovel out the crosswalk pose for a photo.

After: Washington St @ Chestnut St, s/e corner
Snow piled up at a street corner. Two people are shoveling snow from the crosswalk.

Before: Washington St @ Chestnut St, s/w corner

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Washington St @ Chestnut St, s/w corner
Snow piled up at a street corner.

Before: Broadway @ New Broadway, east corner (by Open Door)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Broadway @ New Broadway, east corner (by Open Door)
Snow piled up at a street corner.

Before: Broadway @ Bedford Rd, n/e corner

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Broadway @ Bedford Rd, n/e corner
Snow piled up at a street corner.

Before: Washington St @ Valley St, S/E corner (Robertson Park)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Washington St @ Valley St, S/E corner (Robertson Park)
Snow piled up at a street corner.

Before: Valley St @ Chestnut St, n/w corner

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Valley St @ Chestnut St, n/w corner
A slushy path through the snow bank connecting the crosswalk to the sidewalk.

Before: Broadway @ Depeyster St, s/w corner, facing east (by John Paulding School, Middle School, and High School)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Broadway @ Depeyster St, s/w corner, facing east (by John Paulding School, Middle School, and High School)
A slushy path through the snow bank connecting the crosswalk to the sidewalk.

Before: Broadway @ Depeyster St, s/w corner, facing north (by John Paulding School, Middle School, and High School)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Broadway @ Depeyster St, s/w corner, facing north (by John Paulding School, Middle School, and High School)
Small mound of packed, frozen snow obstructing the crosswalk curb ramp at an intersection.

Before: Beekman Ave @ Pocantico St, s/w corner (by Morse School)

 A clear path up the curb ramp now that the snow mound has been chopped up and moved away.

After: Beekman Ave @ Pocantico St, s/w corner (by Morse School)
Snow piled up at a street corner, with a narrow path dug out through it.

Before: Washington St @ Chestnut St, n/e corner

 A street corner cleared of snow.

After: Washington St @ Chestnut St, n/e corner
Snow piled up at a street corner.

Before: Valley St @ College Ave, s/w corner (by College Arms Apartments)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

Before: Valley St @ College Ave, s/w corner (by College Arms Apartments)
Snow piled up at a street corner.

Before: Valley St @ College Ave, s/e corner (by Margotta Court Apartments and Smith-White Senior Residence)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Valley St @ College Ave, s/e corner (by Margotta Court Apartments and Smith-White Senior Residence)
Snow piled up at a street corner.

Before: Broadway @ New Broadway, west corner (by Open Door)

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Broadway @ New Broadway, west corner (by Open Door)
A narrow, slippery passage between two snow piles.

Before: 215 North Broadway (by John Paulding School, Middle School, and High School)

 A wider, mostly clean passage between two snow piles.

After: 215 North Broadway (by John Paulding School, Middle School, and High School)
A slushy path through the snow bank connecting the crosswalk to the sidewalk.

Before: Broadway @ Chestnut St, n/w corner. A week after the storm. Crosswalk was clear the other day, but the snow mounds in the street collapsed into the passage.

 A street corner with a path shoveled through the snow pile.

After: Broadway @ Chestnut St, n/w corner.

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