Snow removal in Denver
Re: “Cities clear on snow policy; Some focused on plowing key routes; others hit every street,” Dec. 27.
Thanks for the great story regarding the crazy patchwork of snow-removal policies across the metro area. Some cities did a good job, some a poor job, and some no job at all. Some letter-writers believe that citizens shouldn’t rely on government at all but remove snow by themselves. Apparently, they don’t pay taxes or don’t understand an urban government’s responsibility. It’s obvious that we need, desperately, a regional service authority to coordinate and merge snow removal as well as other services.
Richard Weber, Denver
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Re: “It’s snowing again; who will clear the streets?” Dec. 29 Open Forum.
Why can’t the city of Denver issue a citation to those who do not have their sidewalks cleared within 24 hours of a snowstorm? Icy sidewalks and icy streets make a double hazard for those who have to walk: letter carriers, newspaper deliverers and people who have to walk to work, school kids, dog walkers and others. We need citations issued and more publicity about the necessity of clearing your walks.
Dorothy Spencer, Denver
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Your letters to the editor all seemed to criticize those who chided the mayor and city of Denver for failing to remove the snow. The writers criticized people for failing to “pitch in,” “help themselves” (comparing this to criticism of Katrina victims – please!) or to shovel their own sidewalks and intersections.
This native of Denver for 52 years, husband and neighbor in the Stapleton neighborhood did shovel our sidewalks and had to dig out our alley since our garages are in the back. It took us three hours just to shovel the alley in back of three houses. It took another 2 1/2 hours to shovel the sidewalk from the alley around to the front of our house, all this with a snowblower and neighbors shoveling. It took another hour to shovel our driveway. Some of our side streets remain difficult, if not impossible, to navigate a week later.
The city can do better and, yes, I am willing to pay more in taxes. The city has been paralyzed, and although we don’t have this level of storm all the time, we do have enough snow often enough to have a better system. There is plenty of room for improvement without having equipment that will sit around and which can be done for reasonable costs.
A.M. Greene, Denver
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It is unfortunate that in the midst of the winter of 2006, a blizzard should strike right as a major holiday begins; however, the bigger story was the aftermath. More than 4,500 people slept on marble beds at one of the newest airports in the nation. Highways, streets and alleys were rendered impassable for days without relief and the Denver city government seemed unconcerned, other than to hand out hot cocoa and sledding lessons.
The leagues of convention planners, seminar consultants and, hopefully, the Democratic Party will forgive and forget this mess when it comes time to select a city for the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
The future of Denver relies on many facets of services – businesses, restaurants, entertainment venues – to woo out-of-town visitors, but if we leave them at the airport and along the highways, it will be an even bigger disgrace than the operations our city planners and supervisors demonstrated last month.
Gary Goode, Denver
Darrent Williams’ murder
Re: “Williams’ murder a cowardly gun crime,” Jan. 3 editorial.
I am shocked and appalled at your statement that “Denver should close ranks against the gun culture that endangers the city’s streets.”
Perhaps you should define “gun culture.” It could very well be said that I am a member of the gun culture – and I would proudly wear that label. I safely and lawfully use firearms.
Perhaps you should condemn criminal acts. It is an undeniable truth that firearms do not commit crimes. It is also an undeniable truth that the criminal element is responsible for crime. Perhaps you should suggest closing ranks against the criminal element that endangers the city’s streets.
J.L. Rhodes, Fallon, Nev.
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On Jan. 1, Darrent Williams was gunned down in a senseless act of violence while partying in Denver. Also on Jan. 1, two U.S. servicemen were killed in a senseless act of violence in Iraq’s Diyala Province.
Aided and abetted by the inevitable media circus, many Coloradans will fixate on every last factoid regarding an athlete whose job was merely to protect the local football team’s end zone. It is a safe bet that over the next couple of weeks, The Post and other Denver media will dedicate mountains of copy and hour upon hour of air time to rehashing Williams’ brief life and “explaining” his tragic death.
It is also a safe bet that most Coloradans will never know the identities of the two servicemen who were killed while ostensibly “protecting our freedoms,” nor will they care to know. The Post will help to ensure this complacency by burying the news of the servicemen’s deaths on its back pages and providing a brief bio in its “Portraits of Valor” feature – perhaps many weeks from now. With that, The Post will have closed its books on the two servicemen.
Darrent Williams’ death is a tragedy of the first degree. But it is no more tragic than the deaths of the two servicemen who, in spite of their sacrifices, will remain nameless and faceless. Or of the 3,000-plus Americans – an average of more than two per day since the war began – who have previously been killed in Iraq.
To say the least, these priorities are disgusting.
Matt Sandor, Boulder
Bush and the war in Iraq
The great majority of the American people have shown clearly that they are aware of where President Bush’s disastrous policies have taken us. Nevertheless, he has the supreme arrogance to propose another insane policy of “surge and accelerate,” that is, send more troops to die in Iraq and spend more tax billions to be wasted by companies like Halliburton.
It is difficult to believe that even our most conservative neighbors can continue to support this senseless war. How many more of our and Iraqi children need to die or be maimed for life? How many more countries can we alienate? How many more billions needed for health, education and the environment can we afford to waste?
How many in Congress will truly represent us by finally standing up for peace?
Carole Bayer, Boulder
Missed opportunity
Gerald Ford missed a second opportunity to heal this nation. To have spoken his views of the Iraq war in 2004 rather than tape them for posthumous release would have been another great moment in American history. The same could be said for Colin Powell. Do government or elected officials need to give up their public voices after they serve? I hope not.
Our country is more important than political correctness or fealty. Ford did it once when he pardoned Nixon. A shame he did not do it a second time.
Larry Kline, Lakewood
