Some people aren’t following instructions

Joan Bentley, Clinton
Letter to the Editor

January 03, 2007 09:48 am

— I’ll begin this letter with a quote from an article in your Dec. 15 edition, “City of Clinton Snow and Ice Control Program.” This paragraph was of particular interest to me:
“Snow plow operators are instructed to plow the street as close as possible to the curb line. Where sidewalks are close to the curb, drivers are instructed to avoid pushing snow onto the sidewalks. In these locations, snow will be stored in the street next to the curb.”
Since I am unable to do my own snow clearing anymore, it is necessary to hire someone else for the job — which I did after the last snowstorm.
Now, once is OK, but twice or three times for one storm is ridiculous, especially since successive times involve the removal of huge chunks of debris that had been deposited on the sidewalk from the street.
I live on South 14th Street, where the sidewalk is directly at the curb. When I complained last year, I was told that piling the snow on the sidewalk could not be avoided — a statement that I didn’t believe then and still don’t.
It would seem obvious that, judging from the above quoted paragraph, some people are not following instructions, are ignoring them or the instructions were never given in the first place. Perhaps before the next snowstorm, this policy could be reviewed with the operators so that a more considerate and efficient job may be done by storing the snow in the street next to the curb as specified — not on the sidewalk.