Snow Ban In Effect...

This is probably the 4th or 5th time this winter that we’ve had to put a snow emergency in effect so I know it’s old news at this point but I still feel an obligation to let you know that thanks to the latest round of snow squalls the Public Service Director  has declared a snow emergency in effect at 9 am February 26th – which means we need your help to move any parked vehicles off the streets so that the plows can safely clear the streets.  The parking ban on City streets will remain in effect until further notice.  Here’s the official announcement:

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2010

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF KENT HAS ANNOUNCED A SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN BEGINNING TODAY AT 9:00AM, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, 2010.

THE PARKING BAN IS BEING PUT INTO EFFECT TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CLEAR SNOW AND ICE FROM CITY STREETS DURING THE CURRENT STORM EVENT. THIS PARKING BAN WILL REMAIN IN AFFECT FOLLOWING THE STORM TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CONTINUE SNOW REMOVAL EFFORTS. AN UPDATED NEWS RELEASE WILL BE ISSUED TO INFORM THE PUBLIC AS TO THE STATUS OF THIS PARKING BAN AND WHEN IT WILL BE LIFTED.

DURING A SNOW EMERGENCY, PARKING ON ALL CITY STREETS IS BANNED TO PROVIDE FOR SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL. A SNOW EMERGENCY EXISTS DURING ANY 24 HOUR PERIOD WHEN TWO OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATES.

THIS WINTER SEASON, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE REMINDED TO CLEAR PUBLIC SIDEWALKS OF SNOW AND ICE ABUTTING THEIR PROPERTIES.

City of Kent, Ohio
Eugene K. Roberts

Stonewater Drive New Traffic Signal Getting Ready ...

Here’s a short note from our City Engineer with an update on the status of the Stonewater Drive extension and the new traffic signal at Stonewater and SR 59 between Don Joseph Toyota and the Klaben Ford Dealership. 

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The new signal at Stonewater and W. Main Street has looked complete for the last several weeks.  However, the preemption notification light has been on back order for several months. This light lets emergency vehicle drivers know that the signal registers their presence and need to travel through the intersection without stopping. On Tuesday this week (February 16) the contractor installed this small but vital equipment. The signal has gone through several performance tests and will soon be set into operation. The following schedule will be followed to get the signal into operation.

- On 2-22-10, Thompson Electric will be back to finish the remaining construction (hookup of the interconnect wire and telephone drop) and Pathmaster will program the controller, establish the video detection zones and program the audible pedestrian signals. By the end of the day on the 22nd, the traffic signal will be put into flash until 3-1-10.

- On 3-1-10, the signal will be switched to stop-and-go mode (normal operation) and the 10-day performance test will begin (this is the final test of the signal). On this day, the contractor will also remove the barriers from the bridge to allow through traffic to use Stonewater Drive. During the 10 day performance test, the signal must function without major deficiencies that would cause the signal to default to flash. We will be using temporary signs (“Stop Here on Red”) to indicate where traffic is to stop on West Main Street and Stonewater Drive. When the weather breaks, the temporary signs will be removed and appropriate stop lines will be marked on the pavement.

After passing the 10-day performance test, the signal can be subjected to final inspection prior to our acceptance.

The traffic cabinet is installed and the timing is set up.  We will be installing video detection (to activate the signal) at this and all future intersections.   Basically it is a “box” drawn on a video feed instead of the old loops cut in the pavement. When the cameras recognize a vehicle entering the “box” it notifies the controller that someone is in the zone. No wire loops in the pavement to be torn up during repairs or resurfacing.  The zones are able to be changed via a laptop and in the future from the Traffic Engineer’s Office at Engineering.

Currently only SR 261 and SR 43 have video detection.

Sidewalk Shoveling Update...

Who needs a membership to the gym when you’ve got enough snow to shovel yourself into the best fitness of your life.  This is biceps building season and by the time we finish shoveling I figure we can send a Kent contingent to the world’s strongest man (or woman) competition.  Now I know why the Swedes do so well — they shovel year round.  If the weather has hurt the gym business I’m guessing it’s kept a steady stream of customers lined up at the physical therapists — aching backs, sprained muscles and frozen extremeties.  Northeast Ohio is what therapists call job security.      

And I’m not just talking driveways here — for all those that have lifted a shovel in the name of civic duty and shoveled the sidewalk in your neighborhood we salute you.  Like the edges of my shovel, the whole snow-novelty holiday-season-nostalgia-thing is long since worn off and we’re left with the grunts and groans it takes to not only push the snow to the sides but lift it 4 to 6 feet high to reach the summit of Mount Snowbank.  There’s not much joy in snowville these days — so focus on the cardio benefits and how buff you’ll be at the end of the season — just in time for the beach!  

If fitness alone won’t motivate you the City is looking do a little coaching and incentivizing shoveling.  The City ordinances already said that everyone needs to pitch in, do their part, and shovel the sidewalks that are adjacent to their property but Council felt that the ordinances needed to go a little farther and they added that anyone that piles snow from their driveway or parking lot in a way that blocks the sidewalk then they must clear the sidewalk or be subject to a citation that carries a financial penalty like a ticket.  With the amount of snow that has been piled on the sidewalk it looks like the City’s Code Enforcement Officer is ready to implement that citation process.  Here’s the details from the Community Development Department and a couple of other updates for how all this will work:   

FROM GARY LOCKE, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR:  Just to give a quick idea how this will work, Troy Loomis will be the primary staff person involved with the enforcement.  When a violation of the ordinance occurs, Troy will contact the business owner or property owner (in appropriate cases both will be notified) and provide them with a warning in writing that they are in violation.  They will be provided a period of time to correct the violation.  I have instructed Troy that if the violation constitutes an immediate safety hazard, that a 24 hour compliance deadline should be allowed.  If the situation is not an immediate safety hazard but the owner or operator of the business or property can be contacted directly, then a 3 day compliance deadline should be provided.  In the event that the property owner or business operator cannot be contacted directly and notice must be sent by mail, I have asked Troy to provide a seven day compliance deadline, unless the situation constitutes an immediate safety hazard, in which if the appropriate person cannot be contacted or located, we would contract to have the danger eliminated by removal of the snow / pile.  The cost to the city of having the snow removed would then be passed along to the property owner or business owner.   

In the event that compliance is not achieved through the warning letter by the compliance deadline, a Citation for Civil Infraction will be issued.  At this point a fine becomes effective.  Anyone who is cited for the infraction is required to respond with an answer within 10 days of the date of the citation.  In that answer, they can admit to the violation and pay the fine; admit to the violation and prove that the violation has been corrected (in which case the fine could be reduced by 50%); request a hearing with the hearing officer; or seek any other appeal process afforded.  For the snow removal ordinance, there is no other appeal process.  If no answer to the citation is provided within the prescribed time period, the fine becomes delinquent and is doubled.  If the fine is ultimately not paid and sent for collection, it is then tripled.  The current base fine for a citation is $100.  As the ordinance says, we will use any method of obtaining collection permitted by law.  I am currently researching whether we can seek collection through a collection agency on any fines levied on non-property owners such as businesses who lease.  Ultimately, however, I believe the ordinance gives us the ability to collect the fines from the property owners through certification to the property taxes.   

Since we are in the beginning stages of this new process, we will be attentive to how the process works and whether we are getting better compliance.  It may be necessary to propose some tweaks and changes to City Council at some point in the future, but we need some time to, “test it on the road”.  I would also emphasize that we are not using this system to cite persons who fail to clean their walks since the new council ordinance did not take the changes in that direction.  If there are any questions concerning this new process, I would welcome the opportunity to address them.   

2. On-Line Citizen Complaint Form for Sidewalk Snow Problems – With more enforcement capabilities (see above) we thought it would also be helpful to make it easier for residents to conveniently report problem spots so we’ve added a new Sidewalk Snow Removal button on the Citizen Action Center page of our City web site:  Citizen Action Center.   When a resident enters the problem/complaint a report is automatically sent to Troy Loomis for follow up.     

3.  No Parking Ban and Towing – I thought it might be helpful to share a copy of the Police procedures for ticketing and towing during a no parking ban for snow emergencies.  Here’s that Policy:   

Another Snow Emergency…...

I really prefer to write blog posts about interesting local events, unique Kent characters and to share good news stories about our community but unfortunately Old Man Winter is dominating the headlines these last couple of weeks and if you’ve glanced out a window this evening you know he’s back at it.  As much as I hate writing about it, I feel a sense of obligation to report the latest updates on weather related notices issued by our Public Service Department — consider this a blog version of twitter.   Here’s the latest Parking Ban notification that went into effect this evening:

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF KENT HAS ANNOUNCED A SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN BEGINNING TODAY AT 4:00PM, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH, 2010.

THE PARKING BAN IS BEING PUT INTO EFFECT TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CLEAR SNOW AND ICE FROM CITY STREETS DURING THE CURRENT STORM EVENT. THIS PARKING BAN WILL REMAIN IN AFFECT FOLLOWING THE STORM TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CONTINUE SNOW REMOVAL EFFORTS. AN UPDATED NEWS RELEASE WILL BE ISSUED TO INFORM THE PUBLIC AS TO THE STATUS OF THIS PARKING BAN AND WHEN IT WILL BE LIFTED.

DURING A SNOW EMERGENCY, PARKING ON ALL CITY STREETS IS BANNED TO PROVIDE FOR SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL. A SNOW EMERGENCY EXISTS DURING ANY 24 HOUR PERIOD WHEN TWO OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATES.

THIS WINTER SEASON, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE REMINDED TO CLEAR PUBLIC SIDEWALKS OF SNOW AND ICE ABUTTING THEIR PROPERTIES.

City of Kent, Ohio
Eugene K. Roberts
Director of Public Service

sNOw Parking Ban...

Although the Ground Hog’s winter weather prediction accuracy runs a measly 39% correct, apparently this is one year out of three that Phil might actually get it right.  Sadly Phil saw his shadow this week which means another 6 weeks of winter and sure enough here comes the snow.  

The local weather forecasters are calling for a chance of Kent getting as much as 5 to 10 inches out of that big storm that is moving up through the Mid Atlantic states and into the Ohio Valley.  It may turn out that the front stalls south of us but in case it continues moving north on it’s current track the City’s Public Service Director has put Kent residents on notice that we may be implementing a parking ban early Saturday morning (February 6th) so that the crews can have safe access to plow your street – which means word to the wise — find someplace other than the street to park your car tonight in order to be safe rather than sorry in the morning. 

Here’s the official notice:

Interesting Part of Crain Avenue Bridge Being Inst...

If SR 43 north of town is part of your daily commute you’re probably all too familiar with the new bridge construction that has been underway now for the last 4 to 5 months.  For the most part traffic has been only moderately impacted but it is such a busy intersection that even moderate impacts can back traffic up in a hurry. 

The good news is that because the intersection and the bridge were such a traffic bottleneck the City was eligible for a lot of state and federal bridge funding which we used to finance this new bridge.  The bad news is that until the new bridge is on-line the tough traffic is going to get a little tougher as motorists will have periodic lane restrictions and contractors digging in the right of way to contend with.   

At this point the building demolition has been completed and the utility companies have been busy relocating their lines.  Most of those plates and street cuts are the markings of where power and phone lines have been re-routed to accomodate the new bridge crossing.  With a little bit of good weather late in 2009 the bridge contractor was also able to get a fair amount of concrete abutments poured and work continues on retaining walls right now. 

On Tuesday, January 26 the contractor will be setting the pieces for the tunnel sections for the Hike and Bike Trail that will run below the new bridge. The tunnel is a fairly prominent piece of the project so I thought it warranted a little mention in the blog.  So in your travels around town you might want to try to drive by to see it.  

For reference purposes I’ve shown a part of the rendering for the new bridge so that you can see how the tunnel fits into the whole project.

Shoveling Sidewalks Update...

Now that we are firmly entrenched in winter’s grasp, I thought it might be a good time to take a pulse on what’s happening on our sidewalks.  My anecdotal  non-scientific windshield survey seemed to indicate that sidewalk shoveling compliance is better this year than it’s been in recent years — hopefully that’s a result of all the public outreach efforts and newspaper coverage of City Council’s lengthy deliberations this summer about how to make our sidewalks safer for pedestrians — especially our pedestrians with special needs that rely on sidewalks for most of their transportation.

I wish I had a camera because there’s been some great images of shovelers, including 5 year old kids using beach shovels to help mom shovel the front sidewalk on a section of Crain Avenue.   And I’d have to say that those 5 year olds made a difference because their front walk has been cleared all winter long.  It seems that the neighborhood sidewalks where we live are better this year but the sidewalks on the main drags in front of commercial establishments are still not so good. 

I guess the lack of sidewalk attention in front of commercial establishments is a testament to the fact that we are a car based drive-thru economy because the owners/managers have certainly not made it easy for any foot bound traveler to visit their establishment.   I suppose you could argue that in the spirit of a free market economy they can choose not to clear sidewalks until a savvy competitor starts to dent their market share but the troubling part is that in the meantime I see folks trying to walk past their business to get their destination struggling to stay safe. 

As evident by the 6 hours of time spent in City Council deliberating sidewalk shoveling, this is a many faceted issue which I am not trying to solve here but I did want to provide an update on a couple of the changes that Council approved this year.  The City’s Public Service Director, Gene Roberts, has been driving the streets during the course of this winter to monitor not only street conditions but also sidewalk conditions, with a particular emphasis on intersections and the snow that the City plows may have pushed into the pedestrian right of way.

As a result of the Council discussions held this summer related to snow removal from sidewalks, Gene has worked with the City snow plow crews to change their plowing tactics that previously left piles of snow pushed from the street in the intersections and crosswalks. That change in practice does seem to be working as the problem appears less prevalent this year despite some relatively significant snow fall over the last couple of weeks.

However, short of physically scooping and off-loading the snow to other locations we will likely always have some areas where the snow plows have contributed to creating pedestrian challenges and it’s in those areas that Council authorized the use of a contractor to come in behind the City crews and clean the intersections for safe pedestrian access.

To that end, Gene has developed a log that he uses to list areas that he feels require contractor attention, which he then forwards to the contractor to execute. Gene generates the list based on three primary factors:

1 – quantity of snow based on City roadway snow removal efforts
2 – proximity to Kent City Schools
3 – State Routes where the presence of pedestrians is most likely

City crews take care of the some sidewalks but here’s a snapshot of the list that Gene sent the contractor this week:

No Parking Ban Lifted...

The Public Service Department announced this morning (Thursday, Jan 7) that the no parking ban that had been in effect to allow the snow plows full access to the streets has been lifted.  That’s good news on two fronts:  1) if you’re a street parker you can park on the street again; and 2)it means city crews have restored streets to safe driving conditions.  The bad news is another front is coming our way and the forecast is calling for more accumulation so sharpen your shovel and keep your galoshes ready for another round.

Here’s todays official notice from the Public Service Director:

NEWS RELEASE
SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN LIFTED                                                    
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 January 7, 2010

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF KENT HAS  ANNOUNCED THAT THE SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN PUT INTO EFFECT THE MORNING OF JANUARY 5^TH 2010 HAS BEEN LIFTED AS OF 8:00AM, TODAY JANUARY 7^TH, 2010.

 RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE REMINDED TO CONTINUE TO CLEAR PUBLIC SIDEWALKS OF SNOW AND ICE ABUTTING THEIR PROPERTIES.

City of Kent, Ohio
Eugene K. Roberts
Director of Public Service

Mother Nature Strikes Again — City Parking B...

This morning (Tuesday, January 5) the City’s Public Service Director announced that a parking ban was officially in effect — which means if you live or work in Kent and you usually park on the street, you’ll need to make arrangements to park somewhere else until the parking ban is lifted.  We realize how inconvenient the parking ban can be, which is why it’s a measure of last resort in the battle of the big snow pile, but at this point Mother Nature has left us no choice.  If we can’t get cars off the street, we can’t plow effectively, and if we can’t plow, we can’t keep the streets safe.  The City Code is pretty clear on the issue and safe streets trumps inconvenient parking everytime so please comply (so that you don’t find your car towed) and we’ll do our best to keep up with the snowfall so that once it stops we can lift the parking restriction as soon as possible.  Thanks for your cooperation.

Here’s the Public Service Director’s Official Press Release:

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2010

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF KENT HAS  ANNOUNCED A SNOW EMERGENCY PARKING BAN BEGINNING 9:00AM TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010.   

THE PARKING BAN IS BEING PUT INTO AFFECT TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CLEAR SNOW AND ICE FROM CITY STREETS DURING THE CURRENT STORM EVENT.  THIS PARKING BAN WILL REMAIN IN AFFECT FOLLOWING THE STORM TO ALLOW CITY CREWS TO CONTINUE SNOW REMOVAL EFFORTS. AN UPDATED NEWS RELEASE WILL BE ISSUED TO INFORM THE PUBLIC AS TO THE STATUS OF THIS PARKING BAN AND WHEN IT WILL BE LIFTED.

DURING A SNOW EMERGENCY, PARKING ON ALL CITY STREETS IS BANNED TO PROVIDE FOR SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL.  A SNOW EMERGENCY EXISTS DURING ANY 24‑HOUR PERIOD WHEN TWO OR MORE INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATES.

THIS WINTER SEASON, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE REMINDED TO CLEAR PUBLIC SIDEWALKS OF SNOW AND ICE ABUTTING THEIR PROPERTIES. 

City of Kent, Ohio
Eugene K. Roberts
Director of Public Service

The State of Sidewalk Snow Removal...

I was hoping that winter would just skip Kent this year — or in the vernacular of a university city, take a sabbatical — but in case the weather doesn’t cooperate I thought it was worth providing an update on what changes the City has in store for encouraging a higher rate of compliance for shoveling sidewalks.

The quick recap for the last 10 months would start with the late February/March snowfall that we experienced last winter.  Late season snow is rough because many folks are mentally, if not physically, all shoveled-out for the season and the last thing they want to do is shovel their sidewalk for the 318th time only to wake up in the morning and see the wind blew it all back again over night.  That’s when frustrations run high and compliance starts to run low. 

Shoveling tends to benefit from the guilt of peer pressure which means as more and more shovelers wave the white flag and give up, the less others are inclined to keep fighting the good fight, and before you know it, sidewalks all over town are blocked.  It doesn’t help that as the snow season wages-on the plow truck operators start to fall behind and they have fewer and fewer places to push the piles of the snow from the street — so they too contribute to the sidewalk problem by creating mountainous ravines at intersections — which in turn causes even more folks to throw up their hands and say why bother shoveling their sidewalk frontage if walkers can’t get through the intersection.  It’s a vicious cycle. 

It’s about that time that the call goes out for the City to enforce the laws on our books to inspire folks to comply with the existing City Ordinances that require people to shovel their walk 24 to 48 hours after the snowfall.  The trouble is that Ordinance uses the court system to try to compel compliance but the reality of the court docket means that by the time the court assesses any fines or admonishes deadbeat shovelers the snow has melted and we’re busy cleaning-up after Heritage Fest. 

Recognizing this short coming in the existing Ordinance the City Council worked with a citizens committee for the past 9 months to devise a better method for keeping sidewalks clear of snow and ice.  This issue proved to be a real test of political philosophy as one camp argued for using the City enforcement powers to push people into compliance while the other camp said that approach over-stepped the bounds of good government.  It didn’t help that nearly every good idea cost money which is in short supply these days so finding a solution was tough going. 

In the end the compromise was to keep the existing Ordinance on the books, add a few more violations for people who purposely pile snow from their parking lots in the middle of the sidewalk, change City plow practices that piled snow at intersections, set aside some cash to have a private contractor on-call to help clear problem spots and educate, educate, educate. 

This was one of those let’s try these things to see if they make a difference before we jump too far headlong into the deep waters of writing tickets or using city crews (at great expense) to clear sidewalks.  It may be imperfect but it’s a genuine effort to be more responsive to the perceived need. 

 So far the City has signed a contractor to perform the intersection clearing duties that Council authorized for this winter.   The Public Service Director said that there were a number of local bidders and he felt that competition helped us get good prices for the contract.  That contract has been awarded and the contractor is ready on an as-needed basis. 

In addition, the City ran three ads in the Record Courier newspaper in late October – November seeking names and numbers for shoveling/plow contractors who would be interested in being listed on a snow removal list for the City. The idea behind the list was to create a reference document for residents and property owners to use to secure snow clearing services on their own.   It took a while but the company names are trickling in and I think we’re up to about 20 companies at this point so the list should be compiled for distribution soon.

Lastly, we have been working with Kent State University’s volunteer coordinator to match up residents who might need assistance with shoveling duties with student volunteers with strong arms and young backs.  We’ve been asking for names of residents that may have physical limitations that could benefit from some volunteer shoveling services.  We’re limited by the number of volunteers we can assemble so we’re trying to ease our way into this new program area but it shows great promise and is a great town/gown connection. 

And that sums up sidewalk snow shoveling heading into the 2009-10 winter season.  Oh, and not having a shovel is no longer a good excuse to not shovel because the City has added snow shovels to our tool loan program that is managed by Troy Loomis, City Code Officer (330.678.8107).  Just give Troy a call, sign a shovel out and return it at no charge.