There are a few Ithaca Journal stories of the past few days I feel I should note:
The Town has opportunities to save on energy costs, and quickly at that.
There are more students signing up for free and reduced-price school lunches.
There's an objection to the New Roots Charter School that's starting in Ithaca. (Once the state passed charter schools, it was only a matter of time...)
Some lunatic thinks governments should shovel sidewalks. (In print, that was "Gov. should clear sidewalks," but I didn't expect Governor Paterson to come do that.)
And, of course, while we clearly have a new president, the county legislature story remains a lot more complicated.
Posted by simon at January 22, 2009 6:02 PM in Ithaca Journal
There is no reason for the village to be plowing sidewalks at taxpayer expense. Residents should consider shoveling good exercise. I live in an area surrounded by men and young boys and NONE shovel there sidewalks or even their front steps. Laziness. Pure laziness. No way should I, as a taxpayer, pay to have my DPW plow these lazy people's sidewalks!!! Let's hope a new administration stops the plowing of Dryden Village sidewalks immediately!
And I'm sure you feel exactly the same way about the roads, right?
If the village mandates that there must BE sidewalks, their not shoveling them (or requiring their upkeep in any way) becomes an unfunded mandate. Why, if I lived in the village, I'd tear my sidewalk out and restore the pristine lawn that should by rights be mine.
I just don't get it! What in heck is so difficult about shoveling your own walkway? Think of it as being a courtesy to your neighbors that have to walk on them. I do. Some of you clowns suggest not plowing roads and hold property owners responsible for shoveling the road in front of their house. Come on, are you idiots? A road is a road. A sidewalk is what, on average in front of each house, 30-50 feet? Are you guys THAT lazy that you can handle a shovel to do that? Should the village also plow your driveway? Take out your garbage? Maybe give them a call to paint your house in the summer too! Insane thinking. I want my tax dollars better spent than on some one being paid to man a garden tractor with a plow to clear MY sidewalk!!!!
Some of us "clowns" actually walk through the Village of Dryden. And walk through the City of Ithaca.
The contrast is pretty drastic. Given the choice, I'd always rather walk through the Village.
No, the village shouldn't plow driveways, or take out the trash, or paint houses. None of those have the same impact on everyone walking by as shoveling the sidewalk or the roads does.
It's not about difficulty - though it is certainly easier for one guy with a tractor to clear a huge number of sidewalks quickly. It's about consistency. One unshoveled sidewalk makes walking a pain, the same way that one unshoveled chunk of roadway makes driving a pain.
It's certainly a courtesy to clear the sidewalk that goes from the public sidewalk to your own house, though.
I'm guessing that you don't spend much time walking.
Theoretically, gas taxes pay for road maintenance. So, it is clear that there needs to be a pedestrian tax. The only way to figure out who is a pedestrian is via pedestrian licensing. The license fee will cover plowing, salting and extending the sidewalk network. ;)
Gas taxes don't pay for plowing, at least at the Town or Village level. Plowing, road maintenance, and all of the other services provided by those municipalities get paid for by a mix of sales and property taxes, with a few other pieces as well, but no gas tax.
Given that Pyramid Mall is part of the sales tax mix, though, I guess we could say that the Village of Dryden is already collecting a kind of pedestrian tax - from people walking around inside the mall and spending money. But maybe that's too weird or ironic to make much sense.
(And then there are freeloaders like me, people who don't have sidewalks but wish they did.)