People gingerly picking their way through the wide, deep slush puddles surrounding the curb.
Main & Washington
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Slushy puddles still wide and deep. Also icy cold! Just waded through several along Main Street and along Huron Street. Most of them too broad to jump over (at least for me).
I came across puddles at 4th and Ann yesterday that were too big for me to jump over–a first in 28 years in AA. I’m getting old, but not that old–these were huge.
If the city of Ann Arbor wants people to come downtown to shop, to attend entertainment venues and eat out it could be worth clearing cross walks and plugged storm drains. Yes,we had a lot of snow yesterday. I walked to Kerrytown for lunch jumping over puddles, but end up walking in them.
Why can’t the City employ persons looking for work to clean storm drains with a shovel? I reguarly see storm drain grates plugged with leaves, sticks and trash.
Perhaps a good time to note that Main Street businesses have instituted a self-assessment program to make their streets friendlier?
The idea of “employing persons looking for work” (implying down-and-out persons willing to work for minimal return) is quaint. The city has regulations and ordinances, not to mention union contracts, that govern hiring. For example, the Living Wage ordinance sets minimum wage for city workers (even those working for contractors) at a level above the state or federal minimum wages. We’d need to use regular city workers, and we are shedding those rapidly.