Comments on: Street Savvy

By: GMAX9

GMAX9 — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 05:08:08 +0000

I think your Mayor has been talking to the Mayor in Pierre. Waiting for Mother Nature is the norm here. We have more than our fair share of hilly streets in this town and it can be a real nightmare to get around after a couple of inches of snow. One of the most frustrating things is they don’t even sand/salt in the school zones where you never know when a child will dart out and you’ll be unable to stop. There are lots of days when the 15 MPH school zone speed limit is too fast.

Good luck convincing your Mayor to change his mind – I think we’re on about our 3rd or 4th Mayor since they adopted the “let Mother Nature do it” policy here. If you do get him to change his mind be sure and cover what was done so we can try it here.

By: Frank Finney

Frank Finney — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:33:20 +0000

Doug, what has become of our friend Steve H.? I miss his blog.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 13:20:17 +0000

Totally agree. I live out of town but commute into Sioux Falls each day. Mr. Mayor, you need to keep your streets safe more than you need an events center.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 03:06:08 +0000

I agree with you Doug. The money that the Mayor alloted for the task force on the events center he should be using on the streets. There are such holes in the streets right now that come Spring after all the freezing and thawing our steets should really be a mess!!!

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:31:41 +0000

I think the insurance companies should be willing to sand the streets.That could save both the city and them money

By: daniel Johnson

daniel Johnson — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 04:58:29 +0000

I don’t know Doug about the sanding > I don’t live in your city but in the city where I live the sand trucks are so quick to sand that in the winter it is like living on a gravel road and cleaning up the garage floor is a weekly duty.

By: LeAnn

LeAnn — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:00:11 +0000

I wonder how many fatalties it will take for him to rethink this plan. And the number of bad accidents that will happen that could have been prevented if he would sand and salt the roads. I have lived here since 1969 and it took years to get the program to the point we finally had that worked. So Mr. Mayor if it AIN’T BROKE it don’t need fixing!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Scottish Goldfish

Scottish Goldfish — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:34:16 +0000

A further frustration: On the rare occasion that my street is cleared, those who drive the plows gather all the snow they possibly can and deposit it across the the end of my driveway. Back to icy streets: I live at the top of a steep hill. At times it is more efficient to travel down that hill, but in the winter, I have to go out of my way in order to stay on a level street or travel sideways down the hill. A possible solution to the former: Have guys or gals from local lock-ups follow the plows and clean out the driveways that have been filled in. It would give them some fresh air, physical activity, and something productive to do to while away the hours, but I suppose that would be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Never mind that I, a law-abiding, tax-paying resident of this city, am forced to do the same activity.
Not only do we not need an event center, I thought we either voted or otherwise expressed our opinion that we don’t want one, in any part of the city.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:18:33 +0000

Doug, I agree with you 100%. Last night, after work I drove down 11th to the post office mail box, then swing out of downtown on 10th, going west. One block west of 10th & Minnesota was so slippery, I was doing 20 mph and sliding all over. Besides those streets being on the emergency snow route, they are state highways. I don’t get the logic of this mayor either. To skimp on something important, like our winter streets, and lavishly spend on a “possible” events center we don’t need is purely stupid. If all he heard during his campaign is “we want an events center”, then he better do like Shrek and clean the wax from his ears.

By: Doug Lund

Doug Lund — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:59:19 +0000

Donn, if you read the blog closely you’ll see that I did NOT feel people were insisting that the plows roll all over town for a small snowfall. But to leave the sand and salt trucks parked, unless somebody calls, is frugality to the point of foolishness. It’s not being spoiled to insist that side streets get a dose of something to give us a grip.