When even walking is risky

For those of us that have been here all or most of our lives these are the kinds of winters we use to have in Chicago. What I would like to see is better car of our streets and sidewalks. The number of absentee landlords that do not do snow removal or even salting is so obvious. If you can't clean the snow from in front of your property then why have property. Tenants that don't get this service need to speak in strong terms to their landlords.

I know a Black female that has a snow removal service, who is looking for small contracts as well as waiting to hear from the city for paperworks she submitted 2 years ago for snow removal contract wih the city. Didn't hizz honor just come unde fire a couple of weeks ago for inequities in distriution of minority contracts? He claimed that he can't find enough minorities to contract with. BULL!!

Of course he could also hire some of the young black men stanidng on corners to do snow removal BUT that might offend the our union workers who obviously can't keep up with the snow or filling in pot holes.

Sometimes the KISS method is good,"KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID"

We could have sidewalk patrols and ticket owners for not shoveling....but when that happens, woe to the one who happens to go on vacation, is hospitalized or at work when the snow piles up.
Always walk on the grass if possible and remember that sidewalks covered with snow could also have ice hiding underneath, walk with care,

Yup. I fell on sunday and required 9 stitches above my eye to keep from bleeding as I type this.

The hospital ER (Swedish Covenant on Foster) was packed with other assorted fall victims. But they did a good job assessing those most in need of critical care and working down the line.

Moshucat wrote:

For those of us that have been here all or most of our lives these are the kinds of winters we use to have in Chicago. What I would like to see is better car of our streets and sidewalks. The number of absentee landlords that do not do snow removal or even salting is so obvious. If you can't clean the snow from in front of your property then why have property. Tenants that don't get this service need to speak in strong terms to their landlords.
I know a Black female that has a snow removal service, who is looking for small contracts as well as waiting to hear from the city for paperworks she submitted 2 years ago for snow removal contract wih the city. Didn't hizz honor just come unde fire a couple of weeks ago for inequities in distriution of minority contracts? He claimed that he can't find enough minorities to contract with. BULL!!
Of course he could also hire some of the young black men stanidng on corners to do snow removal BUT that might offend the our union workers who obviously can't keep up with the snow or filling in pot holes.
Sometimes the KISS method is good,"KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID"

Why do you people have to put race into every single subject? Why couldn't you have said that you know a qualified person that has ..... instead of "BLACK FEMALE"? Does her race or gender make her more qualified? This is why there is so much prejudice in this world, we need to start looking at qualifications and skills instead of profiling.

We shoveled our sidewalk, but that didn't stop ice from developing when the weather went above freezing then again to a deep freeze. Also, as an ER nurse myself, I have a suggestion. If you are older than 70, you have no business walking outside. I am not trying to discriminate based on age, but it is a fact that bones become more brittle as you age leaving you more prone to fractures. Also, anyone taking the medications coumadin or plavix is at increased risk for suffering a bleed in the brain if they strike their head from a fall. If you don't need to be outside walking, don't do it.

The article stated “...but they can be liable if their snow-clearing efforts unintentionally make sidewalks worse.” But I thought there was a Good Samaritan low in Chicago? Plus to add to Moshucat’s gripe about absentee landlords, mine is with those 3-story condo buildings the owners of which cant seem to get their act together and maintain their property. In the summer it’s all unmowed grass and dead bushes and now in winter it’s unshoveled, icy walks. Ironically, I can see them coming home with their gym bags. You’d think they’d save themselves a trip now and then and pick up a shovel instead of a dumbbell.

Well, I'm unemployed and live in Wicker Park. I'm willing able to shovel sidewalks and drives if you need it done. I'll even chop up the ice with my metal shovel. I need to earn some quick cash to take my wife out for Valentine's Day. Leave a message here and I'll contact you.

P.S. I could really use the exercise and excuse to get out of the house.

Jim A in Chicago wrote:

In the summer it’s all unmowed grass and dead bushes and now in winter it’s unshoveled, icy walks.

Why yes...well you'd really better take care that you don't fall on those very slippery dead bushes in July...those things are man-eaters.

It should be law that every homeowner clear the sidewalk in front of their property. Thats how its done in Minneapolis. You don't shovel, you get a ticket.

Boy, you'd think Daley would be all over that one!

I wonder who we sue when we fall and break a hip on the public sidewalk???? You know, the ones the city (?) is supposed to take care of? Or, is that considered an "Act of God"? I am serious, who is responsible?

Also, I am talking about the sidewalks not in front of a business, like on a bridge

BradM wrote:

<quoted text>
Why yes...well you'd really better take care that you don't fall on those very slippery dead bushes in July...those things are man-eaters.

That's right, you idiot, pick one phrase out of context and jump all over it.

Deb wrote:

I wonder who we sue when we fall and break a hip on the public sidewalk???? You know, the ones the city (?) is supposed to take care of? Or, is that considered an "Act of God"? I am serious, who is responsible?

You can't sue anyone, it's more like "an act of God." I fell years ago and sustained serious injuries including head trauma that left me unable to read and do math for over a year. At the time I didn't seek to sue, since I couldn't even read. Years later an attorney told me it didn't matter since I wouldn't have been able to sue anyway.

I live in the Lincoln Square area and at least on my block, only a building owned by an absentee landlord is remiss in shoveling. Despite the constant downpour we've had, I saw many of my neighbors out there (both homeowners and property owners who rent to tenants) shoveling and removing snow and ice.

I've also noticed, however, that in my neighborhood of $2-$4 million dollar homes, it is many of the more expensive homes that don't bother to be good neighbors and get rid of their snow. I also see my elderly neighbors, some of them in their 70's, out there shoveling their walks. Some people just have more of a sense of community and civic responsibility than others.

Too many people not shoveling, too many people not watching where they're walking. Put the cell phone away and slow down.

Ella wrote:

We shoveled our sidewalk, but that didn't stop ice from developing when the weather went above freezing then again to a deep freeze. Also, as an ER nurse myself, I have a suggestion. If you are older than 70, you have no business walking outside. I am not trying to discriminate based on age, but it is a fact that bones become more brittle as you age leaving you more prone to fractures. Also, anyone taking the medications coumadin or plavix is at increased risk for suffering a bleed in the brain if they strike their head from a fall. If you don't need to be outside walking, don't do it.

How old are you ella?
You don't think anyone older than 70 should be outside?
Hmmm...as a retired and quite active physician over 70, I don't think nurses should be dispensing medical advice.

"Cities and homeowners aren't quite as legally vulnerable, but they can be liable if their snow-clearing efforts unintentionally make sidewalks worse."

Really? Some fact-checking and clarification is in order. on that point. I've read recently in this very publication that as of the early '90's, in Illinois, people can't be sued for removing snow and ice. They can however be sued if they DON'T remove the snow and ice, which means that more than half of my neighborhood is open for a lawsuit. In Chicago, Municipal Code 10-80-180 states that snow and ice on public ways must be removed by owners, lessees, tenants, etc. who are in charge of property adjacent to the public sidewalk.

"Municipal snow crews don't do too much to help pedestrians in residential neighborhoods, focusing primarily on streets or sidewalks in front of businesses."

I guess since they can't tax us for walking, or sell us walking licenses, we pedestrians are of no concern when it comes to safety.

one of the worst offenders is University of Illinois-Circle campus....as a resident in the area who walks through it, I can't believe how bad it is.....as an alumni I am ashamed...can't our taxes pay for a snowplow or are they all plowing the parking lots and not the sidewalks....