Thanks to Home Depot, I’ve got a brand new one waiting in my garage. There’s no way I’m going outside in 5 degrees to install that though.

Anyone have an auger I can borrow????

And on a day like today, only the heartiest souls have been out in my neighborhood. Biting cold sub-zero weather has a way of doing that.

Please visit http://www.downersgrovewatch.org and see examples from last January where piles of parking lot snow and driveway snow were deposited up to 5 or 6 feet on sidewalks along Ogden Avenue making it impossible for pedestrians to walk on side walks forcing them into the
street, interfering with 4 lanes of Curb to Curb Traffic. Sears Store and Jewel/Osco on Ogden did not pile snow on their sidewalks and also plowed their sidewalks, last January 2009, these are two businesses that are pedestrian friendly.

The Watch would appreciate Citizens calling gross violations into the CRC Citizens response Center with the Village for Code Enforcement to Contact the Business Owners or Shopping Center Manager.

It is also a Good Neighbor Practice for Businesses and Citizens to plow their sidewalks and if they are at a Corner such as Main and Ogden Avenue to shovel the Crosswalks to assist pedestrians to cross the intersections. Last January, Walgreens, Trojan Hut, the BP Station and the Used Car lot at that Intersection either covered the sidewalk with their parking lot snow, or did not shovel their walks and certainly did not offer access to the cross walks at this busy intersection.

The Mayor called for Citizens and Businesses in Downers Grove to step foward this year to help the Village and offer their services to compliment the Village efforts., at Tuesday Night’s Workshop Meeting.

I am certain that Business Owners and Property Owners on Ogden Avenue and Streets Like Main Street (4 Lanes of fast traffic) can keep their sidewalks safe for pedestrians. Some businesses and property owners already do, they can reach out to their neighbors (business and individual) and get their NEIGHBORS to come together for everyone’s benefit for a Safe Winter 2009/10 in Downers Grove.

Today, I plowed my driveway and blew the snow on the parkway. Likewise, I plowed the sidewalk in front of my house and to the North and South to join the plowing efforts of my neighbors. It is surprising how one good turn prompts another. None of my neighbors put driveway snow on the sidewalks, even if they don’t plow their sidewalk, which is the exception.

Bill Wrobel

On a personal note, I keep waiting for Municipal Code 19.21.2, which will prohibit plows from depositing several inches of snow across my driveway — or at least allow me to blow it back into the street from whence it came.

After years of listening to commissioners caution residents against blowing snow into the streets, I certainly take their point. But sometimes, there’s just no place else to put it.

Oh well, a girl can dream…

Depositing of snow on streets and sidewalks prohibited.

It shall be unlawful for any person, other than authorized Village personnel, to:

a. Plow or otherwise remove snow or ice from private property and deposit the same on any Village street, sidewalk or right-of-way in such a manner as to decrease the drivable width on any such street, impede the normal routing of pedestrian traffic, or significantly hamper Village snow removal efforts.

b. Plow or otherwise remove snow or ice from private property in such a way as to block the vision of motorists at any intersection, prevent parking at the curb or cover fire hydrants.

(Ord. No. 2361, § 1.)