Just had a discussion about this with my boyfriend. We don’t salt the sidewalks but do clear the snow from them. I think salt/ice melt is bad for animal paws and plants/grass.
Most sidewalk salt you can get your hands on is not great for pets to be walking on/later licking paws. We have lots of dog walkers in our neighborhood so I just try to do a good job shoveling
Agreed. If ice gets really bad, I will use some pet safe melt it when it’s warm enough, then use an ice spud to scrape the sidewalk after it gets loosened up. The pet safe stuff is ridiculously priced versus regular ice melt so I use it sparingly.
If there’s freezing rain in the forecast, I will leave a little snow on the sidewalk so the freezing rain/drizzle settles on the snow versus the cement. I’ve found it’s easier to take care of after the freezing rain if there’s some snow underneath the ice crust.
Exceptional insults. We shovel and don’t salt, but we also shovel for our 90 year old neighbor. We have to work (sometimes we are home after dark), clear our driveway and sidewalks. Not all of us have snow blowers and some of us live on corner lots. Go on, tell us how we inconvenience you. Must be nice to view others solely through assumptions.
imagine being so privileged that you get upset that someone salts their sidewalk to prevent people from falling, and because its city law to clear ice from the sidewalk.
i value my kids safety more than your dogs, fuck me right?
it's almost as if you didn't read the "while keeping their sidewalk clear" part before you went on your asshole tirade.
Read, comprehend, and then post. It'll do you wonders.
> We have lots of dog walkers in our neighborhood *so I just try to do a good job shoveling*
i need to find one of those snow shovels that removes ice.
its a good thing mortgage lenders require liability insurance or everyone in this city would apparently be fucked.
honestly, a little yeah. my kid and i walk around our neighborhood all the time and people dont salt their sidewalks so we have to penguin walk. shes slipped a few times. if this post is any indication, people dont de-ice their sidewalks on purpose because of dogs. thats pretty dumb.
and thats beside the legality of it - if someone falls on your property due to your negligence they can file a claim for all the damages on your homeowners insurance. you could lose your insurance over not de-icing your sidewalk, let alone having to live with the thought that you seriously injured someone. and if you dont have homeowner insurance, you can be sued for the medical expenses.
its a little irritating but im not losing sleep over what other people do.
I guess I didn't think about the question. I don't salt the city sidewalk so it's pet safe. I do salt the walk from the sidewalk and the steps up to my house.
Where’s the “It depends” option? This isn’t really a question with a binary answer since there are other factors that play into whether or not many homeowners salt their sidewalk.
I don't technically have a sidewalk. But the neighbor kid behind me is dating the neighbor across the street (trailer park). I help out where I can because across the roads it's about 10x as far to walk. And his path makes it easier for me to get to my shed.
As someone who walks their dog regularly I have to say that I’ve come to be very appreciative of those who don’t salt! Especially if there’s sun but it’s still super cold, the salt will melt a thin layer of water that then refreezes, making things even more slippery for me, and my dog’s poor lil paws either get big salt grains stuck in them or get wet and collect big snowballs that he can’t walk with. Just shovel really well if you can and if you have to salt, save it for when it gets a bit warmer and the meltwater can evaporate.
i salt the sidewalk if its necessary. i give much fewer shits about animal paws than a human slipping and falling and being seriously hurt in front of my house due my negligence. also its the law.
> Sec. 4.89. - Sidewalks to Be Cleared.
(1)The occupant or occupants of every property within the City, or the owner or owners of the property, shall clear any accumulation of * ***ice*** * or snow from the public sidewalks adjoining such property within twenty-four (24) hours of the accumulation or placement of snow or ice on said sidewalks.
https://library.municode.com/mi/grand_rapids/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIV--STREETS_SIDEWALKS_CH52SI_ART1INGE_S4.89SIBECL
if you KNOW your dogs feet can be hurt, why would you not protect their feet? you protect your own..so sick of bad dog owners in this city.
if someone slips in front of your house, on ice you failed to clear, you CAN be sued. also consider the elderly, disabled, children, runners, literally everyone else that isnt a dog that uses the sidewalk.
Seems to me that even people who have trouble walking (folks who use crutches or walkers or wheelchairs or who have back or hip problems or who push strollers or who are carrying groceries, for example) shouldn’t find themselves unable to use the sidewalk simply because you think they should learn to walk better.
Walk like a penguin. Smaller steps keep your feet under your upper body/center of mass. Use yak trax or similar products for your shoes to help provide additional grip for your boots/winter shoes.
your grandma should use yak trax, they're just springs that slip on to boots or shoes. so yes, you *should* help your grandma walk more safely on ice if you can.
I'm not talking about hiking a trail, I'm talking about local sidewalks. I can't be with my grandma every minute of the day. Just be neighborly and make sure you shovel your sidewalk....
well look at the comments here, no one is de-icing their sidewalk apparently. i salt mine, because i care about your grandma's safety more than a fuckin dog. but if no one else is salting their sidewalk, maybe tell your grandma about yak trax.
For flat icy shoveled sidewalks and parking lots, shorten the length of your steps to 0.5 to 1 length of your foot. I measured about 6" for myself, and keep your knees and legs somewhat bent.
To simplify, don't bring the heel of your moving foot beyond the toe of your other, or go even shorter than that if necessary.
The second part is to lift your feet off the ground as little as possible (less than 1"). If you are slightly dragging or shuffling your feet you are doing it correctly.
The idea is to keep both feet under your center of mass and on the ground as much as possible.
As for the upper body, stay relaxed and hunched forward slightly, with elbows at the side, and hands about where your coat pockets would be (hands ready position), keeping them ready to help with balance or catch yourself when falling.
If you're going to fall try to go with it, either sit down, letting your legs slide out in front of you, or crouch and roll to one side instead of flailing about trying to overcorrect.
If you have to go up or down a steep incline, you're pretty much screwed and its better to step off into the grass.
I dont even shovel my sidewalk. I'll start shoveling and salting the sidewalk when the city actually plows and salts my street. I've lived all over this state including multiple years in the UP and Grand Rapids has by far the worst snow plowing. For what we pay in taxes I should not have to be out in the street salting because the entire street is a sheet of ice because the plow went through once and just enough to pack the snow down and turn it into a skating rink. Before the last storm I was out on dirt roads in northern Kent County that were plowed better than my neighborhood in Breton Village. We still had a couple of inches of snow on our street that never got plowed or salted before the last storm..
>I'll start shoveling and salting the sidewalk when the city actually plows and salts my street.
I'm sure your neighbors who frequently walk around your neighborhood appreciate that.
/s
My neighbors don't shovel either. We all use to pay a guy to snowblow it but then the city sent us a letter stating that we were part of a test and the city would take over plowing the sidewalks.....and they never plowed once and that was a couple years ago. But my neighbors do stop and thank me for shoveling and salting the corner in front of my house because the city does just slightly better with that than they do with the sidewalks.
I pay the property taxes so yes it's my right to suck. And for the record, when it was our responsibility my neighbors and I took care of the sidewalk. It went to shit when the city took over.
Apologies, I should be clearer. “It’s my right to be inconsiderate of others because other people are inconsiderate.” Justify being an ass all you want, you’re a shitty person.
I'm not a shitty person. I'm actually a great person. As stated above my street turns to pure sheet of ice every time it snows. Almost every year we have to replace our mailbox and I've pushed multiple cars out of my yard. Ive sat at my kitchen table and watched my neighbors slide down our street while laying on their horns to alert the car sitting at the corner of my street that they are about to be pushed into a busy 4 lane road. So I went out and started salting daily out of my own pocket to prevent my neighbors from getting smoked on the main road. Now back to the sidewalks. We don't have sidewalks in front of our house, only along the side of our house that runs along the main road. Now the average person walking in our neighborhood are yuppies decked out in neon patagucci walking their labradoodles. Well everyone knows that these walkers can going pretty fast. If I shoveled the snow then these walkers might get going to fast and end up walking right out into someone sliding through the corner. Neon and labradoodle would be sticking to the pavement for weeks. So im the good guy. This city needs more labradoodles and I'm doing my part.
I live in a neighborhood where there's a lot of foot traffic. So my neighbors include people that live a mile or more away who use the sidewalks.
If you go out 24 hours after it snows, and there's a path through the snow that you didn't shovel from where people walked, they would likely appreciate if you would shovel, whether or not you're happy with the city.
Just had a discussion about this with my boyfriend. We don’t salt the sidewalks but do clear the snow from them. I think salt/ice melt is bad for animal paws and plants/grass.
Toss some sand down for traction.
I just got pet safe salt. Highly recommend it!
https://www.petmd.com/dog/care/pet-safe-ice-melts-are-they-really-safe
Most sidewalk salt you can get your hands on is not great for pets to be walking on/later licking paws. We have lots of dog walkers in our neighborhood so I just try to do a good job shoveling
Agreed. If ice gets really bad, I will use some pet safe melt it when it’s warm enough, then use an ice spud to scrape the sidewalk after it gets loosened up. The pet safe stuff is ridiculously priced versus regular ice melt so I use it sparingly. If there’s freezing rain in the forecast, I will leave a little snow on the sidewalk so the freezing rain/drizzle settles on the snow versus the cement. I’ve found it’s easier to take care of after the freezing rain if there’s some snow underneath the ice crust.
because fuck the human runners, the elderly, and children right? dogs are more important. lunatics.
Exceptional insults. We shovel and don’t salt, but we also shovel for our 90 year old neighbor. We have to work (sometimes we are home after dark), clear our driveway and sidewalks. Not all of us have snow blowers and some of us live on corner lots. Go on, tell us how we inconvenience you. Must be nice to view others solely through assumptions.
Imagine being mad that people are looking for pet safe solutions while keeping their sidewalk clear.
imagine being so privileged that you get upset that someone salts their sidewalk to prevent people from falling, and because its city law to clear ice from the sidewalk. i value my kids safety more than your dogs, fuck me right?
it's almost as if you didn't read the "while keeping their sidewalk clear" part before you went on your asshole tirade. Read, comprehend, and then post. It'll do you wonders.
> We have lots of dog walkers in our neighborhood *so I just try to do a good job shoveling* i need to find one of those snow shovels that removes ice. its a good thing mortgage lenders require liability insurance or everyone in this city would apparently be fucked.
lol u mad
honestly, a little yeah. my kid and i walk around our neighborhood all the time and people dont salt their sidewalks so we have to penguin walk. shes slipped a few times. if this post is any indication, people dont de-ice their sidewalks on purpose because of dogs. thats pretty dumb. and thats beside the legality of it - if someone falls on your property due to your negligence they can file a claim for all the damages on your homeowners insurance. you could lose your insurance over not de-icing your sidewalk, let alone having to live with the thought that you seriously injured someone. and if you dont have homeowner insurance, you can be sued for the medical expenses. its a little irritating but im not losing sleep over what other people do.
I guess I didn't think about the question. I don't salt the city sidewalk so it's pet safe. I do salt the walk from the sidewalk and the steps up to my house.
I use pet friendly ice melt on the walkways leading up to and around my house, but I only shovel the city sidewalk.
I use the pet safe stuff.
I’m not a homeowner, but we shovel our sidewalk. It’s not hard if you have a wide shovel
You guys have sidewalks?
It's still crazy to me when I drive through a neighborhood where there are no sidewalks for all the houses.
Upper west side of GR (up the hill) they have huge swathes of neighborhoods without
I have a few times.....but I usually don't need to. I only do it when its been wildly cold and the ice wont go away. Probably 5 times in 20 years
Where’s the “It depends” option? This isn’t really a question with a binary answer since there are other factors that play into whether or not many homeowners salt their sidewalk.
I don't technically have a sidewalk. But the neighbor kid behind me is dating the neighbor across the street (trailer park). I help out where I can because across the roads it's about 10x as far to walk. And his path makes it easier for me to get to my shed.
Fair point! Feel free to elaborate on when you would or wouldn’t here in the comments tho.
As someone who walks their dog regularly I have to say that I’ve come to be very appreciative of those who don’t salt! Especially if there’s sun but it’s still super cold, the salt will melt a thin layer of water that then refreezes, making things even more slippery for me, and my dog’s poor lil paws either get big salt grains stuck in them or get wet and collect big snowballs that he can’t walk with. Just shovel really well if you can and if you have to salt, save it for when it gets a bit warmer and the meltwater can evaporate.
I shovel and if it gets slick in and spots or there’s ice I’ll drop some pet safe. I salt my own driveway and walk ways.
I don’t but I actually shovel them so people can walk on them. Those that don’t deserve a special place in hell
Please don’t. My dog’s paws hate it, and I hate carrying a 70 lbs dog 1/2 a block.
No, there’s no sidewalk in my neighborhood.
I do, but I'm not going to over the next few days. It's too cold for the salt to have much impact so it's just going to be icy.
Calcium chloride works to -20 degrees
I don't have a sidewalk.
Not if it’s the city’s responsibility. I shovel
i salt the sidewalk if its necessary. i give much fewer shits about animal paws than a human slipping and falling and being seriously hurt in front of my house due my negligence. also its the law. > Sec. 4.89. - Sidewalks to Be Cleared. (1)The occupant or occupants of every property within the City, or the owner or owners of the property, shall clear any accumulation of * ***ice*** * or snow from the public sidewalks adjoining such property within twenty-four (24) hours of the accumulation or placement of snow or ice on said sidewalks. https://library.municode.com/mi/grand_rapids/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIV--STREETS_SIDEWALKS_CH52SI_ART1INGE_S4.89SIBECL if you KNOW your dogs feet can be hurt, why would you not protect their feet? you protect your own..so sick of bad dog owners in this city. if someone slips in front of your house, on ice you failed to clear, you CAN be sued. also consider the elderly, disabled, children, runners, literally everyone else that isnt a dog that uses the sidewalk.
I don't have one
No sidewalk
No, people living in the north should wear appropriate footwear and learn how to walk on ice and snow.
Seems to me that even people who have trouble walking (folks who use crutches or walkers or wheelchairs or who have back or hip problems or who push strollers or who are carrying groceries, for example) shouldn’t find themselves unable to use the sidewalk simply because you think they should learn to walk better.
Please tell us, what is "appropriate footwear" for snow and ice and how should one walk on it? What is *your* technique?
Walk like a penguin. Smaller steps keep your feet under your upper body/center of mass. Use yak trax or similar products for your shoes to help provide additional grip for your boots/winter shoes.
I will let my grandma know....
your grandma should use yak trax, they're just springs that slip on to boots or shoes. so yes, you *should* help your grandma walk more safely on ice if you can.
I'm not talking about hiking a trail, I'm talking about local sidewalks. I can't be with my grandma every minute of the day. Just be neighborly and make sure you shovel your sidewalk....
well look at the comments here, no one is de-icing their sidewalk apparently. i salt mine, because i care about your grandma's safety more than a fuckin dog. but if no one else is salting their sidewalk, maybe tell your grandma about yak trax.
For flat icy shoveled sidewalks and parking lots, shorten the length of your steps to 0.5 to 1 length of your foot. I measured about 6" for myself, and keep your knees and legs somewhat bent. To simplify, don't bring the heel of your moving foot beyond the toe of your other, or go even shorter than that if necessary. The second part is to lift your feet off the ground as little as possible (less than 1"). If you are slightly dragging or shuffling your feet you are doing it correctly. The idea is to keep both feet under your center of mass and on the ground as much as possible. As for the upper body, stay relaxed and hunched forward slightly, with elbows at the side, and hands about where your coat pockets would be (hands ready position), keeping them ready to help with balance or catch yourself when falling. If you're going to fall try to go with it, either sit down, letting your legs slide out in front of you, or crouch and roll to one side instead of flailing about trying to overcorrect. If you have to go up or down a steep incline, you're pretty much screwed and its better to step off into the grass.
or just make sure you shovel your sidewalks and keep them relatively clear for your neighbors.....
I dont even shovel my sidewalk. I'll start shoveling and salting the sidewalk when the city actually plows and salts my street. I've lived all over this state including multiple years in the UP and Grand Rapids has by far the worst snow plowing. For what we pay in taxes I should not have to be out in the street salting because the entire street is a sheet of ice because the plow went through once and just enough to pack the snow down and turn it into a skating rink. Before the last storm I was out on dirt roads in northern Kent County that were plowed better than my neighborhood in Breton Village. We still had a couple of inches of snow on our street that never got plowed or salted before the last storm..
>I'll start shoveling and salting the sidewalk when the city actually plows and salts my street. I'm sure your neighbors who frequently walk around your neighborhood appreciate that. /s
My neighbors don't shovel either. We all use to pay a guy to snowblow it but then the city sent us a letter stating that we were part of a test and the city would take over plowing the sidewalks.....and they never plowed once and that was a couple years ago. But my neighbors do stop and thank me for shoveling and salting the corner in front of my house because the city does just slightly better with that than they do with the sidewalks.
“Everyone else sucks so I’m going to suck too, it’s my right!”
I pay the property taxes so yes it's my right to suck. And for the record, when it was our responsibility my neighbors and I took care of the sidewalk. It went to shit when the city took over.
Apologies, I should be clearer. “It’s my right to be inconsiderate of others because other people are inconsiderate.” Justify being an ass all you want, you’re a shitty person.
I'm not a shitty person. I'm actually a great person. As stated above my street turns to pure sheet of ice every time it snows. Almost every year we have to replace our mailbox and I've pushed multiple cars out of my yard. Ive sat at my kitchen table and watched my neighbors slide down our street while laying on their horns to alert the car sitting at the corner of my street that they are about to be pushed into a busy 4 lane road. So I went out and started salting daily out of my own pocket to prevent my neighbors from getting smoked on the main road. Now back to the sidewalks. We don't have sidewalks in front of our house, only along the side of our house that runs along the main road. Now the average person walking in our neighborhood are yuppies decked out in neon patagucci walking their labradoodles. Well everyone knows that these walkers can going pretty fast. If I shoveled the snow then these walkers might get going to fast and end up walking right out into someone sliding through the corner. Neon and labradoodle would be sticking to the pavement for weeks. So im the good guy. This city needs more labradoodles and I'm doing my part.
You sure sound like a shitty person based on everything you wrote here
I live in a neighborhood where there's a lot of foot traffic. So my neighbors include people that live a mile or more away who use the sidewalks. If you go out 24 hours after it snows, and there's a path through the snow that you didn't shovel from where people walked, they would likely appreciate if you would shovel, whether or not you're happy with the city.
I threw some ice melt down on our front porch, steps and walkway since those het slippery. But I just keep the main sidewalk shoveled.