Why is it that...

[iba1990]

Hey to all. Why is it that most cities today have to have all the landscaping in the center of roads with plants that require a LOT of water. I go to work a little before 4AM every morning & the streets are fllooded with PONDS of water that the sprinkler systems spray into the streets or the planters overflow into the streets. You all know how long it takes to clean up the bikes we have &  two miles from home it is dirty again form these sprinkler systems. The city would fine me if I was that careless with my watering. There is supposed to be a water shortage here in Colorado anyway there will be by the time June gets here. How do they get away with it? Especially when we tax payers are paying for it. No matter which route I take to work the Valk is going to get wet & dirty. If I am behind a car, forget it. Do any of you guys have an over watering problem with your city? Maybe I'm just blowing off steam, but I for one do not like it. tom t

[Tundra]

I couldn't agree with you more, pet peeve of mine.  Lot's of that median landscaping in Florida. Even in my truck it pi$$es me off. I try to avoid the roads I know they do this.

[Mike M in ohio]

    Two things get me, here in the suburbs of New York:
     Each and every landscaping crew utilizes their leaf blowers to promptly drive all the accumulated cuttings and excess sand ONTO THE ROADWAY in front of the homes they are cleaning. This not only clogs the sewer grates, but also makes an obvious hazard for two wheel travelers! And this system is now the RULE, not the exception.
     The other is that, in recent ywars, the police no longer sweep the jagged debris off the road at the scene of an accident. Years ago, they carried brooms in the trunk of the cruiser, to do just that. But, in the last five years or so, I've noticed that only the large items (like a disconnected bumper panel) are kicked to the curb. The rest is left to be crushed and spread about by the subsequent passing vehicles. How Come? I wonder?

[alph]

gee!  you guys can complain!!  here in Eau Claire, we don't get our streets plowed until we get 3" of snow, then, if you're lucky, they come with in a week of the snow!!  the city only cuts the grass until it's knee high, you only see the street sweeper once a year, and our property taxes here are the same as my brothers that live in crystal lake Ill. !!

[Lyn-Del]

Hey to all. Why is it that most cities today have to have all the landscaping in the center of roads with plants that require a LOT of water.

Add the fact that some of these plantings also block visibility, and you've really got a problem.  The bushes may be decorative, but I can't see over them or through them, even in the pickup.   And it's nothing new here .... back when I was 16 and taking the driving test for my driver's license, I almost got broadsided because of the city's shrubbery.  Fortunately, I had asked the trooper to see if it was clear (legal to rely on qualified driver's input), so I passed even though I had to lock up the brakes to keep from being hit.

What's wrong with just grass in the medians?

[highcountry]

In Dallas, they ran the sprinklers in the winter coating the road with ice - - just brilliant.

[sugerbear]

How do they get away with it? Especially when we tax payers are paying for it.

you just answered your own question. ???

[Jabba]

You keep electing the same Republican and Democrat Bozo's.  That's how.

Jabba

[iba1990]

GOOD replys ALL. Especially the last one. LMAO. Thanks. Here in Colorado I have seen 3 feet of snow in my neighborhood & they don't plow...well maybe sometimes. They always do it after I shovel my driveway then the plow comes by & pushes it back across my driveway. DANG!!! Oh well, go figure. Probably provides a good laugh for the plow truck driver. Have a good one. tommy t.

[highcountry]

Here in Colorado I have seen 3 feet of snow in my neighborhood & they don't plow...well maybe sometimes. They always do it after I shovel my driveway then the plow comes by & pushes it back across my driveway. DANG!!! Oh well, go figure. Probably provides a good laugh for the plow truck driver. Have a good one. tommy t.

I'll second that Tommy.  They do the same thing here and that recycled snow is much more difficult to deal with.  When I lived in Alaska, the drivers did the same thing and snow doesn't melt there until May.  LOL

[Kaiser]

My friend's dad was on our town's City Commission board and was tasked with slowing traffic through town.

After doing some research, he learned that what some towns do to slow traffic down in residential areas is to put in a median.

Possibly this place is doing it to slow people down?

[Lyn-Del]

The median is largely to slow people down, and to reduce accidents from random turns across traffic.  It's the decorating of these medians with high maintenance plants and/or visual barriers which are the problem.

The water run-off and the blind turns created by the landscaping increase accidents again.

[sheets]

Not defending the water waste... but I think the idea, at least in the warmer climates, is to water early in the morning so they get more bang for the buck as compared to watering in the heat of the day.  I don't see the point in the winter.   ???