Discussions

Why does the City plow back lanes in the summer and now all we get is dust when traffic goes down?

Could try seeing if your block would chip in and get calcium laid down in the lane to reduce the dust.

The reason back lanes get plowed or have a grader go over them is because they are gravel. Over time of driving on gravel, you get really bad dips and washboards or even soft spots. The plow is actually moving the gravel around in the attempts to refill all that and create a better driving surface. Yes, it can be dusty, but if you put in request to the city I am sure they have something they can put down to help minimize the dust. Our back lane was always coated with something after the graders went by that gave it a wet appearance.  
 
The same stuff happens on gravel roads in the country.

~BooBoo~ said "The reason back lanes get plowed or have a grader go over them is because they are gravel. Over time of driving on gravel, you get really bad dips and washboards or even soft spots. The plow is actually moving the gravel around in the attempts to refill all that and create a better driving surface. Yes, it can be dusty, but if you put in request to the city I am sure they have something they can put down to help minimize the dust. Our back lane was always coated with something after the graders went by that gave it a wet appearance.     The same stuff happens on gravel roads in the country. "

I understand that they do that for dips and washboards but we have minimum traffic and no dips or washboards.

~BooBoo~ said "The reason back lanes get plowed or have a grader go over them is because they are gravel. Over time of driving on gravel, you get really bad dips and washboards or even soft spots. The plow is actually moving the gravel around in the attempts to refill all that and create a better driving surface. Yes, it can be dusty, but if you put in request to the city I am sure they have something they can put down to help minimize the dust. Our back lane was always coated with something after the graders went by that gave it a wet appearance.     The same stuff happens on gravel roads in the country. "

It is just a make work project. Come take a look at the back lane between Almond and Balsam just west of 26th. 9 years ago when I moved into the house we are in, I could walk out my back gate and not have to drop 3' to the gravel surface. To me it is nothing more than a make work project. They grate that back lane at least once every 2 weeks for zero reason and have done nothing but dig a hole for the past 9 years. I cannot even use a push mower to cut my grass behind my fence anymore. Soon I am going to need a retaining wall under my fence just to keep it there. Waste of time!

Whiskers said "Why does the City plow back lanes in the summer and now all we get is dust when traffic goes down? "

Maybe contact your City Councillor to see if they can put a coating on it to reduce the dust.

Fishin Guy said "Could try seeing if your block would chip in and get calcium laid down in the lane to reduce the dust. "

City does have a contractor that sprays calcium down select lanes. I do not know how they determine which lanes get sprayed.

How about the trees that take over the back lane. The city had no problem showing up and cutting our hedge in half as it was apparently encroaching on the sidewalk. So why are they not cutting the trees down that brush down the side of your car every time you try to get to your garage.

Because they can. Speaking of which, the backlane at my apartment is fairly heavily pot holed which the city eventually tries to patch. Then the school buses that were at New Era School and heavy trucks rip out the patches. The cycle continues. Complaining to the city hasn't got anything solved like a couple of major beefs I have with them.