Across the street from me, there is a housing coop for active adults over 55.
They water their driveways pretty much every day. They either want the asphalt to grow, or have some sort of cleaning fetish.
In the photo above, the guy is pressure washing his driveway at the same time as it rains. His behaviour is not odd on this street, his neighbours do this too.
What explains this? The desire of older men to play with water? Boredom?
Or is it because the water is almost “free”? In this co-op, the water is bulk-metered, so it’s cheaper than for you and me. And the bulk metering includes about 55 small households in a mid-rise apartment building who don’t have much opportunity to splurge on water. So the residents in the townhouses, with driveways, don’t see any direct cost in “using” purified water to push around some tree leaves or atmospheric dust.
So for residents in Barrhaven or Manotick or wherever, who cannot water their turf or wash their car or fill up the kiddie pool … bring your kids down to Primrose Street to get them washed off. The hosers are waiting for you.
I do not understand people who water their laneways. It almost makes me happy they have a water ban where I live (in Barrhaven)… I’m hoping people will realize that even if they won’t water their laneways, they’ll still make it through the summer.
That photo above is priceless.
Actually, it is important from time to time to sweep debris and clean your driveway. It helps remove matter that will cause damage to it over time. I’m not suggesting it’s normal to do this regularly, but once a season I give mine a good spray-down. You’ll notice that the city does this on many streets as well.
The fact that it’s raining means nothing. Rain does not remove as much as a pressure washer does.
Yep, nothing destroys asphalt like a twig or leaf resting on it.
This is so ridiculous, but it goes in line with the screaming and moaning of people in Barrhaven who proudly claim they’re willing to risk their own drinking water (and that of 80,000 others) in order to have a clean car. Personally I couldn’t think of anything worse than having a smudge on my paint that I had to drive 5 minutes in any direction to wash off. Priorities are priorities.
Ottawa: We talk a great game about conservation and eco-friendliness, but let us water our driveways, kill light rail and keep people out of downtown an in the suburbs where they belong.
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
– Macbeth
A little water clears us of this deed:
How easy is it, then!
– Lady Macbeth
A broom in the rain will do the trick…but really, this is unbelievable! This is clean drinking water being used to hose down a driveway…talk about spoiled!
Only have 5 years to go, but if this is considered a viable pastime for guys who are 55+, just shoot me now.
Kind of reminds me of the Simpsons episode where a news broadcasts announces that the newest trend is ‘wasting food’ – the TV shows a guy dropping a roasted turkey with all the trimmings into a garbage pail, then wiping his hands while smiling in satisfaction.
This is a common past-time in mexico. Although it is usually hired help that is doing the work
Lots of people do this. It’s really a non-story and it feels kind of cruel to put the old guy’s picture on there with his address even if he is doing something which is wasteful.
What’s next? Pictures of people not picking up their dog’s shit?
If it was your front lawn, would you want the dog poop non-picker-upper to feel embarrassed?