Snow Procedures

It seems like most area towns have specific plans in place for dealing with snow emergencies. The intent of this post is to gather a number of these resources and link them all from the same place as a convenience to readers who may find themselves visiting somebody who lives out-of-town during a snow storm.

Belmont's Winter Storm Information (PDF from 2009)
Boston's Know Snow
Cambridge's Snow Storm Procedures
Lexington's Piblic Grounds
Newton's Public Works Winter Page
Salem's Snow Emergency FAQ
Somerville's Snow Emergency Procedures
Waltham's Snow Storm Policy

And for good measure:

Watertown's Public Works Page

There are also a number of roads in Watertown that get plowed by a partnership of MassDOT and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). There are listed here and repeated here:

Charles River Road
Greenough Blvd.
Grove Street – From Coolidge Ave. to Greenough Blvd.
Nonantum Road
North Beacon Street

Snow Shoveling

The Watertown Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee made a poster (8.5"x11" sized) about snow shoveling last year. Since the cold weather is right around the corner, it's an appropriate time to reprint that poster.

Click here to download the original PDF version.

Read ahead for the text:

Snow is starting to fall and winter shoveling becomes necessary.

Watertown encourages all residents to shovel their sidewalks to enable pedestrians to walk safely. Remember, these are your neighbors: students walking to school, the elderly, disabled people and commuters going to the bus. If sidewalks aren’t shoveled pedestrians will walk in the street where they may be hit by cars.

Homeowners are required by ordinance to NOT pile snow from their driveways on sidewalks. All of us shoveling make Watertown a better place to live and work.

If you are unable to shovel the Watertown Senior Center provides a list of people who can do the shoveling (for a fair, negotiated price). Call: 617-972-6490

Thank you everybody in town in advance of the 2011 winter season for making the streets and sidewalks safe for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Event: Bridges or Barriers on Nov 9 at 7:00pm

Will our river crossing be Bridges or Barriers?
Tue, 11/09/2010 - 7:00pm
LivableStreets, 100 Sidney St, Cambridge [map]

This event is a Panel Discussion with LivableStreets board members Ken Kruckemeyer, Charlie Denison and Steve Miller

Come to the StreetTalk to learn about LivableStreets and partner organizations efforts to create better bridges in our region - from vision to implementation. See examples of bridges from around the world, and discuss the impact of getting the bridges right today for future generations to come.

Details are here.

Boston Bike Drive from Roll It Forward

Roll It Forward is encouraging everybody in the Boston Metro area who has a usable bike that they no longer ride to donate it between now and December 10, 2010. Roll It Forward is organized by Mayor Menino's Boston Bikes program and the Boston Public Health Commission. It sounds like a great deal of effort is being made to ensure that your donation will be given to somebody who will truly appreciate it.

From their website:

Now is a great time to donate your bike to Roll it Forward. We're collecting bikes in the fall so that there's enough time during bike shops' "off season" to make sure they get repaired in time for distribution this coming Spring. So even if your summer riding season is over, we're still collecting donated bikes through December!

-All you need to do is take your bike to any of the donation locations that we've partnered with: Eastern Mountain Sports, Wheelworks Cycling Centers, or Giant Cycling World. These shops are offering a valuable coupon with your usable donation. After checking over your bike and performing some basic repairs, they'll get the bikes back to our program. We'll match your bike with someone who can use it. Bike education and a helmet are a part of the deal.

-We need all kinds of bikes in all sizes, for adults and kids. But please, no junker bikes or bikes that are beyond repair.

-Keep your bike out of a landfill and ROLL it FORWARD!

Additional information about which bike shops will accept your donation is listed here. There's also a chance that you can receive a free bicycling jersey if you email rollitforward@gmail.com to get a jersey claim form (while supplies last).

Meeting Moved

The November meeting for the Watertown Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee was moved from November 1 to November 8 because of elections taking place on November 2.

Sorry for not posting this announcement prior to November 2.