Dear HRM—You pay these guys in the little tractors to plow out the crosswalk entrances and curbcuts/corners, right? These hardworking folks need to turn around and check their work before driving off to the next corner. I went out today in my wheelchair and had to travel 3 blocks down Spring Garden to find a (halfway) safe place to cross so that I could go across the street from my apartment. The crosswalk in front of the drugstore on Spring Garden was plowed, but half of the lane was the curbcut, and the other half was the curb. Lest I be accused of being a fucking pussy, I’m pretty freaking mobile for a chair. I watched able-bodied folks struggle with the small lake of slush as well, where the shitty plow job was. Down at the corner by the the other pharmacy three of the four corners were plowed similarly. Three out of four corners unsafe for someone with a walker, wheelchair, limp, baby stroller, etc.
Do you guys check to see the plow job you did will actually allow people such as myself to have a near-normal life, by doing crazy things like go to the store, have a job, have a social life, etc? The city is wasting money for these guys to do this half-assed job. I called the city and received a very nice “we’re very sorry,” but they still haven’t come out to fix it, hours later. Overnight the whole thing will freeze and only Spring herself, with her lovely warmth will fix that fucking mess.
Hey, HRM. We deserve a lot fucking better. There are things that bite about having a disability, I’ll be honest. The whole “spinal cord injury and no left leg” kind of stinks, but I have gotten over that mostly. Not being able to buy food because the dickweasels in the little tractors are doing a half-assed job (when their whole ass is required) makes this very frustrating. Please do better. —Wheelie Muthafukkin P (in the house)
This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2011.
wow, are your panties to to tight for you today o.p.? sure sounds like it. what the fuck do you expect from a city that has no money for snow removal, but plenty of cash for arenas, centers, and stadiums. remember the old saying that if you want anything done, do it yourself?
maybe not, but i thought i’d throw that out there. yeah, we all get it that you are pissed, so are a lot of us. and what exactly are you accomplishing by bitching here, zip, nada, zero, nothing, go to the fucking city and bitch at them. better yet, go to hrm website, and launch your anger and frustration there. you will get more exposure, than on a no name bitch board. or are you fucking chicken, to stick your neck out, and put a name to the moth there. either way o.p., they will get to it, when they get to it. and fuck all can be done to speed things up.
Hmm….could be a potential new product: plows for scooters. We see them speeding along sidewalks all the time. Might as well put them to work and earn some money doing it.
LIFE SUCKS. Please Fuck Off. It’s a bitch board you stunned cunt. Get a fucking life…
fiddler/diddler/ whatever, yeah, is right right, is a bitch board. and as such, i just bitched the bitch out. go stuff a sock filled with rocks up your ass. and have a nice day.
you can be a read dick sometimes LS.
Wheelie should shut his yap because the city won’t do anything about it anyways???
where is the logic in that?
I’d encourage him to attract MORE attention.. since they’ve been on a mad spree to make this city all decked out and available for EVERYONE to enjoy during the coming games…..
are you sure YOU don’t work for the city???
Halifax needs to do what Dartmouth has done for years – add the cost of sidewalk clearing to the property tax bill. Usually within a day or two of a large snowfall they come around with a sidewalk-sized snowplow/snow blower.
Last time I checked the extra levy for sidewalk clearing was around $80/year. I think it’s tax money well-spent. If I could get my driveway done for $80/year I’d pay that, too.
I have never been able to figure out why property owners in Halifax prefer to shovel the public sidewalk themselves or risk of paying a large fine.
It’s not just in your neighbourhood either OP. It’s all over HRM. Access to and fro sidewalks is almost non-existant. Navigating slush puddles and ski slopes at the end of sidewalks! Enough of this crap! I too, detest reduced mobility. Bring on spring!
Good grief, LS: OP’s in a wheelchair — the large snow fall was LAST WEDNESDAY. Shit sure as hell should be cleared now for those who are disabled who can’t just wheel through a foot of snow.
I’d say if anyone has a right to bitch, it’s OP bitching about what they’re bitching about.
So why don’t YOU stfu? zed’s right — you can be a real dick sometimes.
Suckulous, I disagree. Something IS being accomplished here by the OP. Venting here can release some of the stress of a crappy situation making life a lot more enjoyable. That can be more attainable than expecting change to occur on a municipal level by complaining to politicos. You said it yourself, ‘fuck all can be done’, so why not bitch here?
Hate to break this but snow removal from sidewalks in the old city of Halifax is the responsibilty of the property owners, not HRM. You’re bitching about the wrong people.
people please, a bitch is a bitch, and so is a comment to a bitch. such as the one i made. i don’t give a fuck if someone is in a chair, traction or whatever, go to the top. bitch those that are in power the fuck out. there is very little that can be done here.
don’t believe me, then look at all the bus bitches, and the cel phone while driving, how about the fat bitches. have any of them been stopped, taken care of, or even listened to, no they have not.
as i stated, go to the fucking top, if you don’t get satisfaction there, then go to the local media, as in television crews.yeah, venting here might help the o.p. to blow off steam. but still does nothing to appease their situation. and if i’m a dick, so be it. i never claimed to be a nice person to anyone.
@ zZz “are you sure YOU don’t work for the city???”
Judging by the amount of time LS spends on here I don’t think he works at all.
Bro Tim-
The curb corners/cuts/crosswalks I spoke of are the city’s job. I get your point, but these weren’t residential sidewalks.
Sucks- Before I went home and wrote my Bitch I called the city number for snow removal, the mayor’s office, my councillor. I appreciate your attempt at making me think you’re just a fucking prick, but you failed.
Your attention makes me swoon.
Going for a 4am snack at the S-pharma the next night I asked a city employed why the heck the corners etc were in such shitty condition. First thing he did was get a shovel off his truck and shovel the corner completely clear so I could go do my shopping, then told me a private company tendered to do this shite job. Guess what, Sucky? I’m writing a letter as we speak to try and get their next tender offer denied based on dangerous and substandard work.
Thanks to the botches who chimed in. Especially you, Sucker. You’re a doll!
Squeeeeeeeeee!rooooooooooo
The plot thickens.
A private company tendered to do the job of plowing the crosswalks and curb cuts?
If that’s the case then it seems like it’s the same old story about contracting out city services to private entities in order to cut municipal payroll costs and ending up with shitty work being done by the lowest bidder.
Kudos to the city employee who took it upon himself to shovel the corner clear.
was it dexter developments?
they seem to be getting a lot of the city’s work from what I hear…
can’t imagine why…
The city employee was driving by in a yellow truck(right after a guy in a mini-tractor sped off when I tried to flag him down to help me). I was still fairly angry, and disappointed, and he patiently listened to me, was supportive of my gripes, then shovelled the corner. Even then the corner was icy, which he couldn’t help(he shovelled the snow part, but when you leave it to sit, as in a half-assed job, it will freeze over night). I have to go down these steep corner cuts in a wheelie, and the ice made it still iffy to do myself(when there’s no snow it’s pretty safe). The city guy offered to “spot” me as I went down slowly backwards.
I wrote on the mayor’s Facebook wall as well, haven’t heard an answer.
The city ended up coming at night, days later to take all the snow away in dumptrucks, but people shouldn’t have to wait 5 days to be able to shop or go to work.
no wheelie they should not have to wait, but wait we do. i honestly feel for you, don’t get me wrong, i have days when i can be a complete asshole, and i think the last couple were them. but as i did state, you really have to go to the top. don’t waste time calling the contractor, he don’t give a shit, he is getting paid anyway.
where i live, it is cyprus gardens that do the sidewalk clearing, or at least some of it. fuck, i could do a better job with a plow on my 4 wheeler. and get ready for more of this white shit to come, fuck, i hate this time of year.
I agree- I’m not calling the contractor. I will bitch to the city so their next tender is ignored, hopefully. I am realistic though. Often complaining does nothing. It helps me feel like I’m being involved somehow, while I’m frustrated with not being able to go where I want. Hopefully someone at the top will hear and do something about it, or if enough of us complain maybe we can affect policy and attitudes in the future.
When I left PEI after my marriage went tits up I left a garage of shovels and tools. I wish I had a shovel still. I would have tried to shovel it myself, and got someone to take some video to send to CTV or CBC for fun.
I like lots about winter, but having my disability control me more than other seasons is a pain.
Bye Sucks, thanks for the followup.
no sweat wheelie, i didn’t mean to get so up in your face, just that the last few days have been real fucking shity for me. i’m not used to being tied down like this, and that makes me know how you must feel. with the chair and all.
someone should invent or even design something that gives one traction, plus helps clear a path in front of a chair. no good for non powered ones tho. either that or the fucking city has to get a list of all, and i do mean all, persons with simular disabilities, and make fucking sure, there areas are clear first, or even second, not last.
and finally, they should also make those that do get their tenders, liable for anything happening to said people of disability. i know my legs and back bother me quite a bit sometimes, but hey, fuck, at least i am able to feel the pain. not so for you or others in your position in life. and that’s another reason why, “LIFE SUCKS”.
Maybe coming so close to losing mine a couple times, I think life is pretty sweet. It’s too frigging short, though.
Paying for services via taxes and not being able to take for granted going to the store or crossing the street certainly sucks.
Everyone has an opinion based on their experiences. I’m not going to knock yours.
Hope your back and legs feel better. That sucks too!
WilliePeter