And yes, even with the cost multiplied by 10, clearing it with shovels is inefficient compared to using a snow plow – but in DC, no one has a snow plow to spare for such a dinky job. Snowplows cost from about $35,000 (for a mid-size 4×4 pickup with a plow blade) to well over $100,000 (gravel truck with a front blade, scraper blade, and sander). Keeping such a piece of equipment in the garage for a few years until it is needed costs far more than turning out with snow shovels once.

Up here in Michigan: It’s likely that someone living on the street would have a plow blade on their 4×4 and would plow one lane on their way out to plow other people’s driveways. Not as neat a job as the shovelers did, but sufficient. If not, half the residents own snowblowers to clear their driveway, and if it’s deep enough to get an experienced winter driver stuck, when they know it will take a long time for the city to get around to the service road, they’ll each clear a few car lengths of road. But you won’t see the main roads unplowed for long; that’s the kind of stuff that gets the city council recalled.

I grew up at the end of a half-mile gravel road with just 4 houses on it. If the storm was bad enough to close the schools, the county would just plow the main roads until it was nearly over, and then catch up the rest, generally getting to our road just before the first school bus came through. So, if Dad could blast through the drifts and get out to work in his ’65 Buick (two tons, rear wheel drive, and a grill sturdy enough to plow fresh snowfall) the neighbors could drive in his tracks. If not, after he cleared the driveway with the snowblower mounted on the rear of an ancient farm tractor, he’d continue down the road. The CPA/hobby farmer in the first house on the road would get out his brand new tractor with frontloader. And so on. Considering the value of a CPA’s and a college professor’s time, maybe it would have made more sense to chip in together for a contractor, but really, Dad’s pay didn’t depend on whether or not he made it to the first class of the day, nor would the CPA have got more customers.

Lets say 50 residents each spent an hour clearing the semi-private road. Being DC these are probably professionals who make say $65/hour on average. That hour then represents a total of $3250 in lost wages. On the other hand lets say the city plow costs $500/hour to run and it would take 10 minutes to do the street. Net cost to the residents for the city service $83, or a total savings of $3167.

Fine example of why we need more city services here.

P.S. I’m the bob who can’t avoid making a point without being a dick. Leave the other bob alone.

When I’m finished with the lane to my house I go ahead and plow the mile of county road out to the blacktop and then plow back to my nearest neighbor’s house about a mile away. If I don’t get to it one of the neighbors who uses the road will generally run a tractor blade or snowplow down the road. It takes me perhaps another 30 or 45 minutes to plow out the mile of county road with an ATV plow maybe a little more if I have to do it with the tractor.

It’s just something we do just to be neighborly and to help each other out.

Radley points out, in a brilliantly simple way, the difference between what happens when people expect government to do something and what happens when they don’t. It’s called the tragedy of the commons.

where people expect the city to send eventua…

The point of the story isn’t about the snow or the practicality of clearing it off on a service road vs. a main road.

Where I grew up, some asshole fenced in his easement which extended halfway across the road. When it was raining, that block was basically useless except to trap the unwary and lost. It stayed like that for years. I left for college just as the area hit a development boom, I wonder what happened to it… While I was growing up, at least one development project was halted by a barricade of good ol’ boy pickups manned by good ol’ boys with shotguns, but this can only last so long…

Also I think Bob has a point although he didn’t get to it until the end of his blustery down-rated posts.

And yes, I do see your point, and I love it. I’ve noticed the same thing around here. About a month back we had 3″ fall mid-day, and I was out about an hour later. The streets were all paved with slush, while all the businesses parking lots were already freshly-plowed. They have an incentive to clear it.

Same system in Philly. Of course it works. No-one parks there unless they want their car keyed.

As such, I’m sure I totally missed the point of the article. Could you please explain it to me?

The way I saw it, you’ve got a tiny little one way street with cars parked nut to butt along one side. Each car represents a person with a Snow Shovel and varying degrees of shoveling prowess. As such, you were able to clear the street. Not only that, but with a single clear curb, it was easy to figure out where the snow should go, no organization required, really.

Also, you knew from previous experience that the City wasn’t going to do it. Probably because it’s a tiny little side street. So, you cleared the street yourselves.

How am I doing so far?

Let’s go to the other street. It’s much bigger, with way more area per possible shoveler and no clear responsibility for each shoveler to respond to. In fact, it appears that it’s outside the bounds of feasibility for the residents that live by it to clear it. They need the city to do it for them.

So… is your point that the main road is a common road, as as such less likely to be serviced by the people living along side it, even though they are likely unable to do so anyway?

Yeah, I totally don’t get your point. And I’m not trying to be sarcastic, I really don’t get your point.

Oh! Ok! I just read your update.

Dude. You cleared your dinky side street because you could it with an unorganized group of casual people. Section responsibility was obvious. Where to throw the snow was obvious. Clearing the main road is simply beyond the scope of a bunch of unorganized people with plastic Snow Shovels to accomplish.

Are you capable of making your point without being a dick? Your ability to comment here in the future may depend on it.

Never mind that you completely missed the point of the post. And yes, you are confused.

#14: Bill Anderson probably has a tractor with a front loader. I have one too! A Mahindra 4500. If I had that here, I could clear the street in front of my house easy. But it’s not here, it’s on my property in Missouri, where I have about 1/2 of a mile of my own road. All I have here is a plastic Snow Shovel. And there is no way in hell me and my plastic Snow Shovel would be able to clear the road.

You and Bill deserve medals for your astonishing self sufficiency!