Driveway/sidewalk Snow shoveling ???

[JimmyBean42]

Laziness. Same reason people don’t clean off the top of their cars.

I may be wrong, but isn't it illegal in most places to have snow on top of your car due to the hazard and accidents that can cause? Not that it deters lazy people anyway.

I find that snow etiquette is lacking in most situations. Like those who live in a city and dig their car out while parked on the street then use a lawn chair to reserve the spot. Bring that up and watch the emotions fly!

 

[soccerdad72]

I may be wrong, but isn't it illegal in most places to have snow on top of your car due to the hazard and accidents that can cause? Not that it deters lazy people anyway.

I guess it's a state-by-state thing. I looked, and Ohio does not have a law regarding roof or trunk of cars being cleared, just windshields and windows.

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/31...ws-found-in-nearby-states-impact-on-our-roads

As far as our neighborhood goes when it comes to the snow plow, being a cul-de-sac, our city doesn't plow it very well, so unfortunately, there are many days when I end up spending a fair amount of time clearing the roadway out at the bottom of our driveway so we can even get out of our street. I try to usually aim it towards the middle of the cul-de-sac (there's an island with trees, etc.) or shoot it back towards the curb if possible. Clearing it into the street just means it's likely coming back to one of our driveways when (and if) the plow comes back through.

 

[kimblebee]

The weight of the snow also makes a difference on how’s easily it can be piled high. Small, fluffy snow..sure, pile it high. The wet, heavy snow we just got on Monday.. no way you’re tossing that to the middle of the yard.

Luckily, we have a big front yard so lots of room for snow. Our back lane? No space at all to pile snow so after the plow comes and blocks our garage door, we put the snow back on the lane. It get driven over and flattened so no big deal.

 

[barkley]

The only rule that I was familiar with was that if you had a sidewalk in front of your residence then you were required to shovel it so that others could pass. Not everyone followed it though.

one city near us has new laws in place to make sure it's followed-

the City Council passed an ordinance requiring residents to clear snow and ice from their sidewalk within 48 hours if accumulation is three inches or more, or face a $52 fine.

That same fine could be reissued if noncompliance continues for another 48 hours. A third citation within 12 months would increase the fine to $103.

this happened in the fall and it's being enforced.

 

[Sleepy425]

One year when we had multiple storms in a row and the space to add more snow was limited, I went out on a warm day to try to clear some out. It was about 50 degrees and the sun was shining great, so I was spreading it out onto the street (trying to better clear the road area - there was so much snow that between the sidewalk and cleared road was at least three feet wide of snow piled about 30inches deep. It made the road very narrow). A neighbor came by and yelled at me for putting snow in the street. I understand the ordinances about not throwing your snow in the street, but I was just ‍ About why he would be mad about me trying to help get some snow melted and the street widened (the piled snow was in the shadow of my house, so I was spreading it into the sunny spots of the road, not piling it there in any way).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

? I don't get why the plow wouldn't come back again? Do they only come by once by you? Since it started snowing today I must have had at least a dozen plows come down the street and tomorrow when people are digging out their cars walks etc they will still be coming around plowing so anything thrown in the street from sidewalks would get plowed to the side.

In my area there is an order of importance level for plowing. Residential streets are last but further down the list of priorities is cul-de-sacs especially because normally they send the pick up trucks instead of the larger plows due to size and maneuverability. A plow can come through the cul-de-sac but typically only once. A pick up truck may come more than once but again we're low on the totem pole. Once I leave my street it is usually better as the other street is considered a main one through the neighborhood. Now my city is pretty good at pre-treating but still.

The amount of times they come through is also dependent on the amount of snow we get. A few inches won't get you multiple passes because our area is large. Also because it's possible if it's sunny enough the snow will be melted in a few hours or at least mostly melted.

But I will say the nice thing about my area is they have GPS trackers on the snow plows and you can track where they have been. You can also easily report if your street has yet to be plowed in a reasonable time.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Can someone please give me a logical reason on why people shovel snow back into the middle of a street that has already been plowed? I just don't understand how this is a good idea. I commute 45 minutes to work every day and this makes me so mad. It drives me crazy to see people shooting their snow blower out of their driveway when they could just shoot it over to the side of the yard. It now causes a hazard for everyone else! The plow is not coming back again! Am I missing something?

I haven't looked up the rules both at the city level and at the HOA level but typically speaking people are good in my area about not putting snow back on the roads. In the curve part of my cul-de-sac where my house is snow put pack in the street would have little impact on neighbors but in the straight part of my street it would have more impact. If it was a bad enough storm system the plows/pick up trucks would come more often but it would become much more of a hinderance for people to put the snow back out on the street. That is specific to our area because there is enough space typically speaking to put the snow in your yard and yet not have to put it for space reasons back onto the street.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I can understand your frustration, OP. I think some people are just inconsiderate. Although, I’d cut them some slack if the snow was very deep and there was limited space on their property to put it.

Fortunately, I’ve never had this problem; in fact, my neighbors usually help each other out after snowstorms, especially looking out for the seniors on the block.

Around here, in some newer homes in the more upscale areas (not mine, LOL), the thing to have is a radiant heating system installed under your driveway and walkway. Just hit a switch and the snow melts away.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Pretty sure we don't - how impossible would that be to enforce? No way to tell who's snow is whose this winter.

Yep we have run out of room for the snow in my community. The snowbanks got to be up to... oh now ~6.5' deep in some places and I dug out a little niche for the fire hydrant but yeah... the snow is going in the roadway now because I have nowhere else to put it!
The bylaw is very confusing on purpose. I understand it to say that you CANNOT shovel snow onto the street ON SNOW PARKING ROUTES. So if you are not on a snow parking route... it can get messy LOL

My biggest problem with all of the snow removal/plowing/parking chaos is: how everyone seems to line up their tires in the same ruts over and over and THAT creates a giant crust that people get stuck on. Good grief people, drive on that snow, safe fishtail and wave through it, break it up a bit... yes yes in the summer we are supposed to stay on our respective middles of the roadway, but seriously... if you don't DRIVE on the snow then YES it turns into a giant ice crustway that people constantly get stuck in!!!! Especially with the snow and melt and snow and melt we have been getting!

 

[Northstar]

This actually happens where I live:

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This actually happens where I live:

View attachment 307652

That would work perfectly for everyone to be happy if every neighbor did snow removal at the same time and the plow came through immediately after everyone got through. At least at that point it wouldn't adversely affect anyone if the snow got cleared away extremely quick. Though I can see wasted resources if the plow has to come back more often to make a cleaner pathway at least for vehicle traffic on the street as it can become a circle of tasks-snow removal to street, plow clears street, snow removal to street, plow clears street, etc.

 

[barkley]

Yep we have run out of room for the snow in my community

I remember a few years back when the local university had to call a snow day on the first day of winter quarter b/c they ran out of room for the snow in the parking lots. they put the snow from the lots onto other pieces of their property but we had a huge dump over a few days prior to the winter quarter starting and those lots were full.

heck i'm envious of those who get regular plowing-it's up to us for the private roads, and the county roads near us are the lowest priority so it can be midday or late afternoon before the county plows come by (thank god for personal plows and 4 wheel drive).

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Can someone please give me a logical reason on why people shovel snow back into the middle of a street that has already been plowed? I just don't understand how this is a good idea. I commute 45 minutes to work every day and this makes me so mad. It drives me crazy to see people shooting their snow blower out of their driveway when they could just shoot it over to the side of the yard. It now causes a hazard for everyone else! The plow is not coming back again! Am I missing something?

They should do what I do. Bury the neighbor's car.

Hi Bob. Wow. Looks like the snow really got us. Tough break with your car. Must have been right in the wind.

 

[Lynne G]

Because they can. Not sure if it's unlawful here or not, but some people do, and some do not. My street, neighbors and us do not, but during my commute, yeah, you can tell the icy patches are sometimes from someone's clean up. No matter, we're ready for number 3 in about a week. Nor-easter number 3 is Sunday night into Monday. Guess I will roll the dice to see how much 11 inches from the last one, first one was fine, 4 inches. Below freezing right now, so not as fast melting as the last time.

 

[DisneyOma]

To those who questioned me about putting the snow back in neighbor's driveway - yes, I've done it. I live on a steep, curved part of our road. the driveway in question is below mine, so when there is a pile of snow in the street it gets dangerous for people trying to get up the hill. So I clear the street, and put the snow back where it came from. Just to note, after I did this all last winter, the neighbors haven't dumped snow in the street this year.

Also, our town contracts private plows to do the side roads - they get assigned a few blocks, so we know our driver very well. He can tell where the snow comes from, and puts it back there on his second pass down the road He also angles the plow to prevent pushing snow back into driveways whenever he can.

 

[sam_gordon]

So I clear the street, and put the snow back where it came from.

But that could be what homeowners are doing also. Picture this... snow falls. Homeowner clears their driveway down to the street. Plow comes by and covers up the bottom 4' of the driveway again. So, the homeowner has to go back out and simply "put the snow back where it came from".

 

[jrmasm]

Can someone please give me a logical reason on why people shovel snow back into the middle of a street that has already been plowed? I just don't understand how this is a good idea. I commute 45 minutes to work every day and this makes me so mad. It drives me crazy to see people shooting their snow blower out of their driveway when they could just shoot it over to the side of the yard. It now causes a hazard for everyone else! The plow is not coming back again! Am I missing something?

I just checked and this is illegal where I live:

Residents can help in three ways: don’t travel unless necessary; don’t shovel or blow snow onto plowed or treated streets (the Township has an ordinance that prohibits this, under penalty of law); and move your car off the street, so that plows have more room to operate. This is especially critical in cul-de-sacs.

 

[RedAngie]

It's not ideal, I agree but in some places there is literally no other choice. The picture below would be very typical of a neighbourhood here where the houses are close together and the front yards are very, very small. At a certain point in winter it can be impossible to even throw the snow high enough to keep piling it up on either side of a driveway. Pushing it out into the street is simply all one can do.

Just get yourself one of these and you're all set.

 

[aprilgail]

But I will say the nice thing about my area is they have GPS trackers on the snow plows and you can track where they have been. You can also easily report if your street has yet to be plowed in a reasonable time.

Our town supervisor gives out his work cell phone number and you can text him if your street was missed or needs to be plowed closer to the curb etc- the population in our town is 213,603- I would hate to be the one getting all those texts LOL. you can also post on his facebook page and he will get a truck out to you. Last year there was a big storm and the plows left about 4 feet from the curb unplowed- we all had the cars parked in the driveways and on the lawns so they could plow easily- I shot him a text saying we got cars off the block but they didn't cut in close to the curb- 15 minutes later there is a plow in front of my house plowing me right to the curb- people in houses near me ran out to flag him down to do theirs too LOL.

 

[dish rag]

Just get yourself one of these and you're all set.

I could use one of those. I shoveled mountain loads back in December and January