Comments on: W. Liberty Street

By: DrData

DrData — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:00:43 +0000

What is it about the new grate design?

The new grate has wavy bars and the orientation of the bars is rotated 90 degrees from the old ones.

I suspect the old grate allowed more debris – sticks, leaves, etc. go into the storm sewer. But, it isn’t clear that the responsibility for street cleaning should fall to me just because I have a sewer grate at the intersection of my driveway.

This is not the typical grate that is alongside the curb. This is a grate that is flush with the street. You can’t see it right now as it is clogged.

When this replacement grate/flooding occurred, I complained to the city and for a year or so two workers and a city truck (expensive) would come by in a truck and clean it out around 7am. That was a pretty silly solution and that hasn’t happened in many years.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:25:48 +0000

But I don’t think a system that relies on homeowners, etc. to keep storm drains clean is very reliable. We lost the city’s program to clear street leaves (which consist not only of leaves that people rake onto streets, but those that fall there naturally). I did see some street cleaners go around a week or so ago before much leaf fall occurred.

One of my neighbors solved their leaf problem by blowing all of their leaves onto the city-owned median. Civic consciousness at work.

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:06:29 +0000

A rake does wonders to clean the grate, and leaves can be shoveled with a perfectly ordinary snow shovel.

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:16:20 +0000

Re: [1] What do you figure it was about the old grate design that prevented clogging?

By: Dr Data

Dr Data — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:51:40 +0000

Happens in front of my house all the time. The city used to come clear the clogged grate.

Obviously, I can clear the grate as well, but the problem occurred after the new grate was installed.