OPINION: A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words (Part II)
By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff
February 21, 2010
Once again, a picture is worth 1,000 words. Or, in this case, two pictures, taken at the same time and at the same location.
The first photo shows the west side of South West Street, immediately south of Broad Street. Ten days after the last snow storm, 14 days after the end of the big storm, about a week after the City belatedly began issuing warnings and tickets, and three days after significant melting began, the sidewalk on the commercial side of the street remains impassable.
The reason it’s impassable is because Rite Aid and Broad Street Realty Trust, which owns the building housing the now-defunct Falls Church Cabinetry, have declined to clear the sidewalks abutting their respective properties, as required by Falls Church City ordinance.
As a result, people must walk into busy West Street to get to school, buses, trains, and stores. On Friday afternoon, teenagers on their way home from George Mason High School were walking in the thoroughfare while automobile traffic whizzed by, mere inches away. It would be a terrible tragedy — and a large lawsuit — if one of the kids were hit because a business chose not to clear its sidewalk.
One cannot blame ignorance this time. They know. We know they know because they did eventually clear their Broad Street sidewalks. But they decided half a loaf was sufficient, leaving West Street untouched, even though it falls far short of what is required.
The ordinance requires snow to be removed from sidewalks within six hours after a storm’s conclusion. The prodigious amount of snow that fell might reasonably cause some delays, but 168 hours, the number of hours in a week, seems beyond generous.
In contrast, right across the street from the business-neglected West Street sidewalk, there are no businesses, just typical Falls Church City mid-century Cape Cod-style residences. As this photo shows, the homeowners have done fine work there. Maybe Rite Aid and Broad Street Realty Trust could hire the homeowners next winter.
Update, February 22: Rite Aid saw this story and asked its contractors to finish the job. As of 12 noon, they have cleared West Street, as well as Ellison Street, which runs behind the rear of their property.
By Stephen Siegel
February 20, 2010
One thing that is interesting is that both sidewalks are immediately adjacent to the street. There appears to be a significant amount of snow still in the street on the residential side but it looks like it is plowed to the curb on the commercial side. I doubt this was done on purpose but I know it makes a big difference when it comes to clearing the sidewalk (speaking from experience).
The article mentions that the City started issuing warnings and citations but doesn’t say if Broad Street Realty Trust or West End Properties LLC (the owner of the Rite Aid building and lot) have been warned or fined.
Kudos for the follow-up.
I’ve learned that Arlington County encourages but does require by law removal of snow from sidewalks. The County does have a program that makes county snow blowers available to civic associations — see past below.
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Help a Neighbor
After every snowfall, they emerge from their homes … the kindhearted residents who lend a helping hand to clear snow from neighbors’ walkways and driveways. They spread out and clean up common areas, helping to make the sidewalks passable and safe for everyone.
To support the many generous snow clean-up volunteers in the community, Arlington County maintains a number of snowblowers to lend to civic associations or community groups — to assist with clearing routes to schools and Metro stops, or to clear the walkways of neighbors with disabilities or special needs.
During a snow emergency, no one knows better what needs to be done than the people out in the community,” said Dinesh Tiwari, director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, which maintains the snowblowers.
Want to help? Contact your civic association or prcr@arlingtonva.us (703-228-6522) for more information and to arrange a training session.
Update 02-17-10: All available equipment has been loaned out for the winter season. We will review the program for the next snow season; however, with budget cuts across the board, expansion of the program may not be possible.
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The FCT should get a reporter down to the scene. I was just driving by and the sidewalk in question seems like it has been cleared – and it looks like it was City workers doing it. Did the owners get fined and the City then decided to clear the walk? Is something else going on? News at 11?
Andy,
I updated the story above. Rite Aid saw my story and the district manager dispatched his contractors to clear both West and Ellison immediately. Kudos to Rite Aid for their effort, and, of course, for reading the Falls Church Times!