to think that if everyone in town cleared their bit of pavement then buggies could get through

[giantkatestacks]

I mean it only takes a few minutes to clear your own bit of pavement and your elderly neighbours and if we all did it then the pavement would be clear.

Round here some people have and some people havent - and they're not elderly etc which means that I still cant get my buggy out to the shops or do the school run - have been stuck in the house since saturday arrgh.

where is the community spirit?

i always pull my buggy backwards which works lol. the wheelchair is another issue entirely - you can't pull it backwards because of the anti-tips.

that works fine if the school run (or shop run) is entirely on pavements that are outside peoples houses .

Large parts of both walks for me are along pavements with no houses next to them.

I ended up pushing the Quinny on 2 wheels yesterday - and even that was a struggle. Backwards wasn't much easier tbh

Exactly - its driving me mad - I keep putting the baby in the bumbo in the hall and going out and doing a little bit more.

Its not even like it takes that long and ours is a main commuter road to the station/shops - so it would help loads of people out...

grr

I was thinking about this too.

I have noticed that the people who have done it are the ones who are at home and the ones who haven't are the ones where everyone is at work - I must admit I haven't fancied going out in the dark to try and clear everything. I think it's quite a lot to ask people to be out in the dark doing it.

I know what you mean about clearing your bit of pavement and in theory it sounds like a good idea (although where does all the 'cleared up' snow go?) but to want it done just so you can get your buggy through makes you sound a teeny bit PFB. Sorry.

In Belgium you are legally obliged to keep the pavement in front of your house clear of snow, you could be fined if someone hurts themself on it.

I find it quite hard to clear the snow.

i thought people stopped ding it because if you put any grit etc down youself you can get sued if peopl fall on that bit of pavement

We have had warnings not to salt/grit ourselves at all = not that I have piles of grit around the house but some of my neighbours have done it.

One neighbour has cleared the pavement outside their house with hot water - that's well safe...

In Germany we had to clear our pavements otherwise we were legally responsible for any accident that happened. So, if Granny Smith (or Oma Schmitt) slipped outside our door we would be liable.

It meant that the pavements were (generally) clear, even in areas that see a lot of snow.

You shouldn't do it - you could get sued if you nmake a hash of it and someone hurts themsleves.

The pavement is owned by the council and is therefore their responsibility and not yours.

but if you clear the path are you then responsible for it? if some one slipped could they sue?

YABU. I'm not getting up off my baxy.

I suppose the councils don't set a very good example - they didn't bother gritting the pavements even on the high street and it was treacherous.

It's part of the whole thing of leaving everything to someone else and no-one taking responsibility.

Does anyone agree that frankly this all makes England look pretty pathetic?
I simply don't believe that anyone is seriously going to get sued here for clearing up the snow.

However I have heard of cases on the Continent where disabled old ladies living alone have been fined for not clearing their pavements.... so I don't know which is worse....

In New York City, it is also the law to clear your section of the pavement within a certain time limit after a snow fall.

Could you imagine the uproar there would be if they brought in a similar law here, even though people would probably only have to do it once or twice every few years!

I suppose we don't have rules about snowfall/people don't think to clear their paths because it is so rare.

If we lived somewhere with a lot of snow we'd know what we were doing better I reckon.

still don't see what difference it would make unless you live in a very built up area with no open spaces.......and who would clear the rest of the pavements?

Hmmm

thinking about this it would have been nice if the shops had cleared the bit outside them - that would have made a real difference and shops are just rammed full of young things who would be excellent at weilding a broom...

I was thinking of suggesting the "100m buggy push through ice and slush" as a new Winter Olympic event. It's DAMN hard work.

DOn't compare yourselves to America! They have bad snow regularly enough to make snow ploughts a logical, sensible cost effective purchase.

I heard BJ on the tv saying that it'd wouldn't be cost effective to buy all the equipment needed to keep London running in the event of something like this which only happens once every 5-7 years.

I think he's right. Nobody in Ireland bothered to make a similar announcemt or to try and defend the fact that we haven't invested in snow ploughs!!

We just take it for granted that we don't have snow ploughs.

Compare yourselves to Ireland,not New York city and then you'll all feel much better.

I had no tea bags this morning though. DOn't mind being snowed in but with no teabags! OMG

you try 1/2 mile buggy push to the local shop (well 1 mile if you include coming back) .........especially when you have to go down the hill and back up the otherside both there and back

Well after reading the thread I am now back after shovelling my bit of footpath. There was a good inch of ice on there. I thought that the council would do it(but then since they havent done the road the footpath is the least of their worries). Its a good workout!

Where are we all going to put our snow? On our neightbours' bit of snow? On the road?

We didn't clear our front, and it has melted away now, but there is a big huge mound of snow (yes on the footpath...)left over still from those who did bother....

My buggy is lovely to push in this only a Chico as well.

we can't get our pram down the pavement either. Stuck.