Answered Monday, February 14th
I\'ve noticed every year we send out the sand/salt crews even when there\'s 1/2\" of snow on a 20 degree day. This amount of snow would disappear on it\'s on if simply left. I understand the concern- we don\'t want CARS sliding. But that sand stay in place until the vacuum trucks come around in June. So for months people are walking, running and biking on thick layers of sand (especially on streets like mine that\'s a cul de sac with little car traffic but lots of kid traffic). So if we\'re so concerned about liability, why do we allow sand to sit on our roads and sidewalks literally for months after the snow is gone when it poses a huge risk and liability? Is is that people don\'t realize that sand is slippery? Or is that all we care about are cars?
One more minor question/request. It\'s great that the bike path is being plowed, but it would be great if we did not salt it. AGain, the salt is slippery. It provides no additional safety and it ruins bikes and shoes. I ride my bike on the road instead of the bike path in winter because the salt is so thick.
thanks,
A. We often leave roads alone when there is only 1/2" of snow especially if there is no chance of more snow and it expected to rise well above freezing. This time of year when it is particularly cold and we are expecting more snow we do pre-emptively treat the roads. If we don't treat the roads the snow will pack into ice that becomes more dangerous and much harder to remove. We agree that it would be wonderful if we could avoid sweeping altogether but we commence that activity in late March or early April and are usually finished in May.
As far as the multi-use path is concerned we are treating it in a similar manner to the rest of the Town's sidewalks. Walkers and joggers enjoy the cleared surface and it certainly presents less of a hazard to users if it is free of ice. We will certainly make sure there is not an excessive amount of salt on the path however given the distance from our maintenance facility a small amount can minimize ice formation. Please feel free to contact the Public Works Director at 802-295-3622 if you have additional questions.