I used to think it would be fun to drive a sidewalk plow, especially when cars blocked a sidewalk I could just ram bam slam into them, crushing them out of the way. Somerset Street shows a different reality. Life has its challenges for us all.
Parking meter pinch
but bike racks have the be WAY off the sidewalk so that the plows can go by
Sidewalk snowplows in Ottawa! Who would have thought that needed to be accommodated for. Obviously nobody at city hall.
Maybe the driver should have a shovel strapped onto the back so that he could shovel those awkward spots. Does anyone know how the stairs on the pedestrian bridge over the Queensway near Parkdale gets salted?
Sylvia made the point I would have (though strictly speaking, neither bike racks nor these things should be blocking the sidewalk plows… I’m a pedestrian, too!).
To the plow operator’s credit, it looks like he did what he could to pull the snow away from that obstruction to minimize the berm. It’s not his fault there isn’t enough clearance, but he’s nevertheless tried to make the best of it.
I agree with noisyneighbour. It looks like about 20 seconds of shovel work. At least there was some snow to plow. We had a plow go by at about 1:00 am the other night up one way and back the other. The sidewalk was already clear of snow.
Another thing, besides the way they all seem to obtrude into the sidewalks? The little square tea trays full of solar cells on top of those things. They all stick out a couple of inches, at the right height and angle to catch a human of average height in the face — say, around the orbital bone of an eye socket — if they don’t quite watch where they walk.
Could it be that in its hurry to look like it was getting stuff done, dammit, the previous council and the private contractor that maintains these things did not think those important fine details through…?
Certainly the meter shown in the post, plus some others I have brushed by in the City, come very close to the head. For some reason, I dont see them or notice them coming, they just sorta surprise me and I jerk back when I discover one coming at me (so as to speak) thru peripheral vision.