November 2011

The snowgate issue is not going away

l3wis November 22, 2011 15Comments

I’ll have to give props to Callison from the Argue Endorser for writing a pro-snowgates column today;

More than 125 people attended last week’s meeting on snowgates.

As the allotted hour stretched to the 90-minute mark, when I called it quits, one thing quickly became clear: Sioux Falls residents who live in the test areas last year really love snowgates.

So much so that when Huber, the city’s street and utilities manager, broke the news that they would have to do without them this winter, people groaned in disappointment.

I whimpered a little myself.

Count me among those who love-love-love snowgates.

That’s because #1 they work (even better when they don’t use an inferior product) and #2 it is a service being provided to citizens, something we already pay dearly for. There are some drawbacks though;

The negative feedback mainly dealt with how narrow streets became after being cleared with the snowgates, he said.

Fair enough. But ALL streets get narrower, with or without snowgates, especially in central SF. I cut thru Pettigrew Heights almost everyday on my way to work, and those streets are narrow without snow. The other drawback is it will take longer to plow the city out. I can live with that, I have often said if we are going to plow the streets, do it right. Which of course brings it to costing more. Well duh. But if we have all kinds of money for monkey crappers and events centers, we certainly have a couple of million more a year for snowgates, which brings us to this comment;

Young with kid: I’m a fan of snowgates. There are very few things I would ever say charge me for, but I am willing to pay more for that. (After he finished speaking, someone called out, “I’d rather pay for snowgates than the events center.” That drew the biggest applause of the evening.)

To Hell with Build it Now, I say Plow it Now!