If you clicked because this pissed you off, take the time to read about a possible future first. Please think about how your clicking on links reinforces an algorithm that only wants to show you things that get a strong reaction from you. Seriously. Pause, spend half an hour reading about a possible future, and then come back. I’m sure these complaints will still be unresolved by the time you circle back, and at the least, you might have more context for where these are coming from.
I am constantly in awe of the way that here in New England, every single season, people have to relearn what they are expected to do when water freezes.
Exhibit A: The bridge over the Park River on Asylum Avenue. On one document, there are four different properties allegedly responsible for clearing this, with two of them being government: City of Hartford and State of Connecticut. On other maps, the bridge is entirely considered to be property of the City of Hartford. It is across from Classical Magnet School and used by students and staff. The storm ended on Sunday. The photo above was taken on Friday afternoon. No attempt has been made to remove snow or add either salt or sand. Walking in Asylum Avenue is not a safe alternative.
Exhibit B: The City of Hartford continues to have no grasp on how to maintain the new roundabout on Park Terrace. All sidewalks immediately in and surrounding the roundabout are property of the City of Hartford, whether part of the parks department (Pope Park) or the board of education (Burns School).
In this storm, the BOE plowed snow from the sidewalk immediately near the elementary school, but once again gave no thought as to how children and their adults might cross the street, failing to plow or salt the curb ramps or crosswalks.
The park sidewalks were virtually ignored, with some still not plowed or salted as of Friday. The photo above shows how late, haphazard snow removal efforts moved a downed street sign away from where it fell. Not shown: where it appears that the same snow removal vehicle hit and knocked over one of the young trees in the roundabout that was just replaced in this last year. This is possibly the third tree killed in that same spot since the roundabout was constructed — perhaps it’s time to place bollards there. Even with this late attempt to do something, the path was still never fully cleared.
There is no difficulty, apparently, at finding and plowing the access road for the Pump Station, which gets much less use than these sidewalks.
Exhibit C: Aetna Life Insurance Co. is the proud papa of this catastrophe along Capitol Avenue. this photo was taken Friday afternoon, after we had a week’s worth of commuting that needed to happen using the sidewalk. There was no effort to salt or sand. It does not appear that they ever removed any of the snow that fell on Saturday into Sunday. Kind of a massive fail for a major corporation that claims to care about health.
Exhibit D: The entire reason I was walking like a penguin — and that’s with ice traction cleats on — on Aetna’s sidewalks was because I knew that the property owner across the street would not have done a thing to their sidewalk. That would be 25 Sigourney Street, owned by Spartan Towers LLC. A property owner that can’t be bothered to deal with broken windows on a high rise, to renovate the building so that it can be put into use and not attract constant graffiti, to maintain its vegetation in any appropriate way, is obviously not one that I would expect to care about if residents fall and break bones. Hiring guards to sit in idling cars all day is money that could have been spent better.
I’m not interested in the excuses for why it continues to take a week, if ever, for property owners to make any effort to maintain sidewalks. It has been known for awhile now that our changing climate means more shittastic ice storms. I can’t pretend to know what these, and other well-resourced property owners, have been doing, but it has not been preparing for the reality we have been living under for several seasons already. I can’t say why the City of Hartford’s BOE maintenance can’t or won’t communicate with the City of Hartford’s Parks crew, or why we don’t have a DPW clearing everything with an eye for what commuters need: safe, cleared paths that people of all ages and abilities can use, and the understanding that sidewalks are not some recreational perk but as essential as highways and arterials; this means also shoveling out bus stops. This is the second winter season for Mayor Arulampalam’s administration. I expect better.