How funny is this, while talking to a member of the pro-snowgate petition drive tonight, they said to me, “You know the Argus will write an editorial tomorrow that is negative to the petition drive in Sunday’s paper”. How sad is it when your local rag is that predictable?
Of course it is full of the usual BIAS inaccuracies;
Some officials in communities who have adopted the snow gates also say they don’t work as effectively as advertised and the narrowing of streets that is a byproduct of snow gate usage can cause serious problems for traffic flow in neighborhoods.
Let’s review. Since citizens in Bismarck, ND approved snowgates 12 years ago, the city has not used them twice, both in 2009 when they experienced, wet heavy snow. That’s it, twice in 12 years.
As for the narrowing of streets, like I said before, this happens without the use of snowgates, that is just a product of winter and a lot of snow, not snowgates.
But it seems silly to mount such a ballot campaign to make snowgates happen when we have an elected council and mayor who just might end up doing that anyway.
This just proves how out of touch not only our local paper is, and our mayor. It is no secret the mayor says he supports them. But only one councilor has been vocal about support, Kermit Staggers. Councilor Jamison says he supports them and ‘rumor’ is Anderson does to, but we have not heard a peep out of the rest of the council. This isn’t about them anyway, this is about YOU and whether YOU support them, it’s about a public vote. How awesome is that?
But this idea just seems premature.
Not at all. While the city LOVES to spend money on recreational and entertainment to the tune of millions each year, what is wrong with asking citizens if they want to spend money on an actual service? Premature? WTF? Snowgates are used nation wide with much success. Mind you, you must use GOOD equipment, and the operator should know what they are doing, but they work. I doubt manufacturers like Henke would be selling this equipment for decades if they did not work.
The snow gates require slower street cleanup, and the effect of those delays on city drivers has to be considered.
Another flat out misconception. A properly trained and seasoned operator can run these devices at the same speed as regular snowplowing. Sure, the first couple of years will be a little rough, but change never comes easy. I have often been of the opinion that government’s job is to provide services to us for the taxes we pay. Snowgates are a service.
I also want to say that the outpouring of people that want to sign the petition has been incredible, it crosses party lines, Dems, Republicans and indies have said, “It is time.”
If you would like a petition, please email me, and we will get you one. (I’m sorry, I cannot post it, we want to make sure people gathering signatures are doing it correctly, so we would like to consult you first.)