You know, we get in a habit and we just can't let it go...please call 911 to report unshoveled sidewalks, not the former non-emergency number that is now disconnected (and we're not even going to repeat it here because someone will call it.) We forgot and put that old number in the Jan/Feb magazine. Sorry about that.
32 comments:
More of the "Me First" mentality from the Home Office.
We shared the same thought as Doc Murray.
That old Lebo Christmas Spirit shines through!
Count peoples' garbage cans, rat out dog walkers in Williamsburg Park, tattle on unshoveled walks.
But never, never, ever publish who hasn't paid their parking ticket fines.
I fall out on the opposite side of this. First, I do think that if a neighbor needs help then pitch in. Second, they should remind people that the HS community service will help out.
That said, get the darn sidewalk shoveled. I had the joy a few winters ago of slipping and falling (painfully) on a multi-day build up of ice and snow in front of a house on Washington Road. (The owners go to Florida and do not have anyone shovel.) Given the angle of the sidewalk I actually slid on my back onto Washington Road. Fortunately it was very early on Sunday and there was little traffic. I called the police and they knew EXACTLY which house because the same thing had happened to a HS student two days earlier. BUT...they said they would leave a note for the owner but that they would not enforce the law.
Part of being a good neighbor is helping others. But part of it is also taking care of your responsibilities.
Sidenote: Fortunately, the owners sold a couple of years ago and the new owners do actually shovel.
7:17 a long-time and perpetual problem like that of course should be reported, which apparently it was.
I was driving home the other night and two ladies in dark clothing were walking in the street beside shoveled sidewalks. Three days later I was driving in daylight and saw kids walking in the street beside shoveled sidewalks. Why? Because the sidewalks in Mount Lebanon are not properly maintained and you are less likely to trip over a sidewalk slab elevated by a tree root and fall if you walk in the street.
Neither the mtl nor the PD can help you with that problem no matter what the magazine says.
9:50 pm. I agree that sometimes people walk in the street instead of on the sidewalk. I have sometimes done that because in some places, the streets are smoother.
In the winter, this issue becomes more complicated due to icing. There is an issue with residents sometimes failing to shovel their walk.
Many pedestrian friendly communities have a Snow Corps, like this one in Chicago:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/snowportal/snow_corps.html
While it's nice that the high school students will shovel, they aren't always available to shovel. Casting a wider net for volunteers while still including the high school students may result in greater success with a program.
However, calling 911 for this matter is so short-sighted that it borders on ridiculous. Can't Mt Lebanon afford a phone line for non-emergencies?
When it's Ok to call 911 for a neighbor who hasn't shoveled their walk, it sends the message to the community that we can call 911 for almost anything.
If you call 911 on your neighbors regarding their sidewalk, they will remember you did that indefinitely. If you ask your neighbors if they would like some help shoveling their sidewalks, they will remember that too.
On my block, I shovel my neighbor's walk whenever I can, and she returns the favor.
Too many people in Mt. Lebo are not neighborly. We have gotten away from this. My family and I took care of our age 91 neighbor for ten years. We took care of her house, took her to the doctor, purchased groceries for her, shoveled her driveway, hired contractors for house repairs, landscaping, etc. We gladly did this. God tells us to love thy neighbor. Only 2 other neighbors helped out occasionally. We taught both of our kids to volunteer in the community. They both still help out as much as they can. What are other parents doing to teach their kids to help out? ???
10:09, I was only talking about folks walking in the streets beside shoveled sidewalks. I didn't call 911 to report my neighbor, I slowed my car to a crawl because folks were walking in the streets beside shoveled sidewalks. If the sidewalks were fixed there would be no need to walk in the streets to avoid tripping on a sidewalk that had been shoveled. The problem was created by residents who were too cheap to fix the slabs of sidewalks raised by tree roots. The municipality even provided a discounted sidewalk repair program to help my extra cheap neighbors repair their sidewalks.
Remember what our school board did when they voted to build the new high school, -er, -ah - I mean, the high school addition?
They called the cops and raised the taxes!
Who was the voice for MtL in the exchange?
Has someone filed a RTK to find out?
The sidewalk snow removal ordinance specifies requirements for residences and businesses, but apparently not for the government itself or the three school systems either ?
Many is the day & night I have seen snow covered municipal sidewalks (e.g. Cedar Blvd. as just one example) more than 4 and sometimes even more than 24 hours following a snowfall. And how often is is it that the municipal street snowplows push snow over the curbs onto the just shoveled sidewalks several times per day and night ? And cover driveways as well !
Get off your high horse mtl and quit threatening the taxpayers !
Why do properties with sidewalks need to have the snow cleared while other properties have no requirement for a sidewalk?
Half of the community live with one set of rules while the other half enjoy a different set of rules.
I fail to see what the magazine did wrong here. If you are inclined to help your neighbor, you don't need the magazine to tell you do it. However, if your neighbor is not shoveling their snow, and it's creating a slip and fall hazard, then you do need to know who to contact. What is the big deal?
Elaine, 2:01 may want you to include this from FB.
"THe volunteer resources are you. And while it may be "sad" for the elderly, the consequences of unshoveled sidewalks in a walking school district can be more than merely sad for the school children who need clear sidewalks to walk to school. The consequences of unshoveled walks for kids could be tragic. Sidewalks need to be cleared; hence the ordinance. This is common sense. If you can't clear your walk, make arrangements to have it cleared. For all those here complaining about the burden ordinance, make sure you are putting your money where your mouth is and are shoveling your elderly neighbors walks and not just complaining on the internet, which is pointless and tiresome."
10:39 PM, you should probably include the name, Elizabeth Stroyd Windsor to that quote from Facebook. You know, cite your sources.
Elaine
Hi Elaine,
WOW! What and idea you have! Citing sources...
Maybe I'll make a list of some of those shitty email statements that were made about various residents (including me) and then I'll file a RTK so that the folks in the PIO and MtL can give me the name, address and telephone number of their sources?
... does everyone know that the identity of press sources are no longer protected?
There's an excellent story from the Post Gazette from 2001 regarding how shoveling was handled when Bower Hill was expanded and new sidewalks were installed. Even though Mt Lebanon residents were 90 years old and couldn't access the road from their homes without climbing steep embankments and guardrails, they were expected to shovel.
http://old.post-gazette.com/consumer/20011031walsh1031p2.asp
It's a mystery in Mt Lebanon about who really shovels the municipality sidewalks. In some areas, it might be a contractor but in other areas, it may just be a resident who has been forced into the job. Keep an eye out this winter....
2:01 Isn't the point of a community magazine to build cohesion within the community? So, yes, it is important that sidewalks are cleared. Pedestrians have no protection from a slip or fall on an ice sidewalk. But the point it that a first step to addressing an uncleared sidewalk may be to reach out to your neighbor.
Don't ya kind of wonder what all 911 is used for around here? Hmm... deer in my yard, uncleared sidewalks, costumed student at the high school. Frankly, I find this trend disturbing. There are real emergencies in the world and when we call 911 about this sort of thing, isn't it just like crying wolf?
The municipality should sent up a line and a procedure to handle these issues that does not involve the police.
11:24 PM, the best part is that Susan Morgans is the staff liaison for the Community Relations Board.
Make sure you click on the link "open dialogue." Calling 911 certainly fosters open dialogue.
Elaine
Elaine,
Open dialog? Like this?
http://pittsblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/back-from-mt-lebanon.html
Undoubtedly, John, you and I would make the list.
Did You Notice This?
Elaine
Hi Elaine,
I've never seen that post before.
Bill Baldwin is my neighbor. Bill Baldwin is one of the finest men that I have ever met. I felt bad when he retired. Bill did a lot for Mt Lebanon.
My personal opinion is that Mt Lebanon government would be better off without Susan Morgans, Merle Jantz and Laura Lilley.
Isn't there an Arbitration Hearing coming up soon for Mr. Pinto?
I looked it up and not understanding the legalese, I think there are TWO hearings coming up, Jan. 3 and Jan. 9. Case ID AR-13-004724
Elaine
How did we get to the point that a municipal magazine has become a centroid for litigation?
Why is there such a strong link between the Pittsburgh legal community and our municipal magazine?
I was shocked that only 8% or the workforce in Mt Lebanon are lawyers. After reading MtL I expected a number closer to 90%.
I was once cited and the ticket was $85. I was at work, got home and the snow had thickened to 2" ice, snowed again while at work the next day. I did my best but couldn't clear the walk. Was even chopping the ice in the dark! I live on a corner and it's a hill. I paid the ticket, of course, but was not happy.
Everyone should be happy that their roads are even plowed. My road doesn't get plowed for at least 3 to 4 hours after every other road in Mt Lebanon, which doesn't plow their roads for a few hours after Castle Shannon it seems.
Who is responsible for the length of sidewalk along Rockwood up from the Park and Ride? That section of sidewalk is never shoveled and the people walking to the T-Station have to walk in the road.
What did Susan Fleming teach? Does anyone remember?
Ah! I found it - here she is...
"SUSAN FLEMING MORGANS CLASS OF 1965
Susan Fleming Morgans is a life-long resident of Mt. Lebanon. She taught English and journalism at Mt. Lebanon High School for five years prior to taking a maternity leave and eventually returning to her first love, journalism. Since 1997, Morgans has been Mt. Lebanon’s Public Information Officer, and in that capacity, serves as the editor-in-chief of Mt. Lebanon magazine, is a member of Mt. Lebanon Municipality’s senior administrative staff and is responsible for all municipal publications, special events, community and media relations, the municipal web site, cable channels and the new LeboAlert notification system. She is the winner of seven Golden Quill Awards for journalistic excellence from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania and has won numerous other awards."
SOURCE: http://www.mtlsd.org/district/2008greatalumni.asp
Interesting... so she graduated in 1965... hum...
This clip says that Susan is responsible for all municipal publications.
Does this mean that Susan approved the article about Mr. Pinto?
Now I am confused... Steve Feller told me that he [Steve Feller] is responsible for approving the content of all articles published in MtL. It sounds like Susan says that she is - and then Merle gets sued?
What's going on up there? Who's running things?
10:07 AM, if you are talking about the sidewalk on the same side of the street as the Park and Ride, I believe that is Castle Shannon. The wooded area is private property in Castle Shannon.
Elaine
Not everybody calls 911 when they have a problem in Mt Lebanon. This is what happens when someone uses common sense:
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/letters/2014/01/06/Salt-the-roads/stories/201401060021
Mt Lebanon needs a non-911 number for residents/visitors to call when they need to report something that they do not consider life threatening.
2:30 do you think we'll be reading an MTL magazine article on people from other communities being bad drivers and to cheap to buy expensive Land Rovers and Hummers.
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