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Peeve O' The Day: December 30, 2009

Wed, 12/30/2009 - 11:11am | by mlang
Inadequately Maintained Sidewalks
A view of the sidewalk along 3rd Avenue North near Target Field in Minneapolis.

I decided to use public transit today instead of bicycling due to the current icy conditions of Minneapolis streets and the fact that I need to keep my computer functioning and in one piece.  This scene is what greeted me as I walked away from the Target Field LRT station towards my office. 

Conditions such as this make life difficult for those of us who choose to get around the city without relying on a private motor vehicle.  Conditions such as this prevent many people from making the choice I made today. 

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Comments

by Texasota (not verified) | Wed, 12/30/2009 - 12:39pm

Money

Elect a new governor? Unfortunately, Pawlenty's cuts to the cities' funding has decimated Minneapolis' plowing budget. Until the city actually has money to pay for stuff, I'm not sure how much it is realistically capable of doing. Would it be possible for the Dowtown Improvement folks to organize some sort of Volunteer Sidewalk Safety Team to help with this?

by mides | Wed, 12/30/2009 - 1:50pm

This is the city's way of

This is the city's way of telling you to reclaim the streets.

by Faith (not verified) | Wed, 12/30/2009 - 3:49pm

I did!

I faced a similar situation trying to take the bus to work while bringing a 50 pound suitcase with me (I was flying out of town directly after work and planned to take the LRT to the airport from downtown). While most of the sidewalks were some what shoveled, the curbs were large mounds of snow similar to the photo above. Rather than try to find a ride to transport me two blocks to my bus stop, I walked with my suitcase in clear, dry part of 36th Street. It was after rush hour, so several cars were able to pass me in the lane for traffic going the opposite direction and one lady stopped and offered me a ride, although I only had a 1/2 block left at that point.

by Anonymous (not verified) | Wed, 12/30/2009 - 5:25pm

You should have called 311.

You should have called 311. The city will clear it and charge those irresponsible building owners for it's removal.

by dquince (not verified) | Wed, 12/30/2009 - 7:09pm

I would be willing to bet

I would be willing to bet they will hit the elderly homeowner with fees before they hit a business for not plowing the sidewalk.

by Alex B. (not verified) | Thu, 12/31/2009 - 9:54am

the city isn't clearing sidewalks either

I'd welcome information that the city is plowing sidewalks. The Plymouth Ave bridge over 94 sidewalks weren't plowed on Monday, even though the car traffic lanes were down to bare pavement.

My guess is Public Works is too busy bending over to car drivers yet again. 311 has a new online snow complaint tool, but especially with further budget cuts it will be July before Public Works gets to dealing with them.

Here is the online snow complaint site:

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/sidewalks/snow.asp

by Anonymous (not verified) | Sat, 01/02/2010 - 12:41am

wow

The funny thing is that even automobile drivers are inconvenienced by this if they ever visit the businesses that are off of these sidewalks.

Pedestrians are better off walking in the street with bright colors on.