3200 block of P St. (clearly not from today)
February 9, 2010
Sidewalks of Shame – An Analysis
GM had a snow day yesterday and took the opportunity to walk around Georgetown and take stock of the sidewalks and roads. His findings: Most residents held up their end of the deal, but it only takes one bad apple on a street to cancel out the efforts of its neighbors. But residents were head and shoulders above businesses, who have left most of the sidewalks on M and Wisconsin almost untouched by shovel or salt.
Ideally a sidewalk should be shoveled down to the brick. For the record, that is exactly what GM did in front of his home:
Not everyone has a shovel good enough to scrape the snow off the bricks (although GM was doing a pretty handy job using a pizza peel until his neighbor lent him a shovel). After a storm like last weekend’s blizzard, it seems acceptable to have a thin layer of packed snow. If that’s the case, you still ought to throw down some (pet-friendly) salt to make sure you don’t end up with a sheet of ice.
But a disappointing number of residents and businesses failed to meet even that lax standard. With all the entrepreneurs running around offering to shovel your sidewalk, to do nothing truly earns you the Sidewalk of Shame title.
GM took a random walk through the village and came across several Sidewalks of Shame:
R St. between Avon and 31st.
Reservoir and 32nd. This is a classic example of the negligent corner-house owner. They cleared out the sidewalk in front of their door but completely ignored the Reservoir St. side. If you don’t like it, I’m sure there are plenty of non-corner lot homeowners that would be happy to trade houses with you. Keep reading →
February 9, 2010
The Morning Metropolitan
Rose Park by Antisocialtory.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Yet another day off for federal workers.
- NBC dubs Martin’s Tavern the snowbound hotspot.
- Mt. Pleasant woman believes Georgetown got special treatment for snow removal. Apparently said woman has not actually visited Georgetown recently.
February 8, 2010
Scenes From a Blizzard
You may be nursing a bad back from shoveling out your front stoop, but GM sincerely hopes you were able to get out and enjoy the scenery this weekend. It was truly something special.
GM was out with his camera at about 11:00 Saturday morning and caught these shots:
Most stores were closed, obviously, but a handful of bars and taverns were open. GM saw Cafe Bonaparte, Martin’s, J. Paul’s, and Clyde’s. Oh, and Georgetown Cupcake. With a line. Good on ‘em! Keep reading →
February 8, 2010
The Morning Metropolitan
Good morning Georgetown, dug out yet?
- GU students don’t let a little massive blizzard keep them from their Hoyas.
- How about that? Circulator running, for free, today.
- Anti-social neighbor on O St.
February 5, 2010
Sidewalks of Shame – Charter Member
By the time this post appears, the first few snow flakes of a supposedly historic snowstorm should be falling on Georgetown. Just Wednesday GM issued a call for photos of egregious non-sidewalk shovelers. So far he’s only received one entry. Surely this snowstorm will provide additional competition.
But to see if he can’t shame a few more homeowners into doing their duty, GM is posting that one photo he received. It’s from the corner of Wisconsin and R St.
The photo highlights one of the common causes of icy sidewalks: corner lots. In this particular case, the owner might be forgiven into think that the BID would clear the Wisconsin Ave. sidewalk (clearly the BID doesn’t and given the steep grade, the owner really should be especially certain it’s cleared). But as a general rule, as a corner lot homeowner, you have the responsibility to clear the sidewalk on the whole length of your property, not just the side you exit from. Keep reading →
February 5, 2010
The Morning Metropolitan
Snowy Georgetown by Jim Malone.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Georgetown Visitation student teams with mentor for rewarding partnership.
- Georgetown’s getting another Circulator: Council approves new Circulator route to replace remaining Blue Bus route. The old route appears to be not affected by the change.
- Psst, the best places to sled around Georgetown are Montrose Park and Archibold Parkway (just South of Reservoir).
