Letter to the Editor: AG Should Nix New Snow Removal Bylaw

This letter was sent to Massachusetts Attorney General's Office 

I ask for the Attorney General Office of Martha Coakley to deny the approval of the Belmont Snow Removal Bylaw - § 60-800. I'm a 20-year Belmont resident, shovel my sidewalk accordingly, but I feel this bylaw unfairly places another financial burden onto the property owners as a hidden "tax" which is fundamentally wrong. 

Section 5 - Deadlines for Removal and Treatment. The bylaw places all material costs of ice treatment onto the property owner. Watertown and Newton having similar Snow Removal Bylaws in place and provides its residents access to sand and salt at no cost. Belmont provides no such option requiring the property owner to absorb these costs. 

Belmont has never treated for ice the public sidewalks abutting my property and has only plowed it twice. I live on Trapelo Road which is the busiest street in our town with motor vehicle and pedestrian use. The main sponsor of the Bylaw, Selectman Ralph Jones, states this is about Public Safety. Why wasn't the town plowing and treating for ice the sidewalk in front of my house more frequently? 

Furthermore, Mr. Jones does not need to comply to this bylaw or face its penalties since his property abuts a grass line sidewalk which is exempt from the bylaw. He never addressed the public safety of the Belmont residents who must walk in the street in front of his house. 

The public records also don't support Mr. Jones claim for public safety. There has never been any fatalities in Belmont during the winter months, and in fact, there was a recent hit-and-run of one of our seniors while in the crosswalk on October 22, 2013 at approximate 10 a.m. in daylight. I've address this real public safety concern with the Belmont Board of Selectmen and Police Department for years of the excessive speed traveled on our roads, vehicles failing to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks and vehicles running through red lights. All this fell on deaf ears and Trapelo Road is still one of the most dangerous roads in the Commonwealth with three document fatalities and four incidents of pedestrians struck while in a crosswalk.

Lee Adams
Trapelo Road