To the editor:

I have written a lot of editorials lately about our government that never seem to get published so I will try a different subject.

Unless you live on a snow route, I am sure that there are people all over town that have the same problem that I have been dealing with for 40 years. I live on a street that only has parking on my side, so even though people have driveways they are always parking on the street and when the snowplow comes along, it usually only does the one side which means I rarely have the snow in front of my house moved. The only times I’ve had the street clean in front of my house is when I clean it with my snowblower.

I used to move snow where I used to work, so I know what the city employees are dealing with. We would go in early to clean the parking lots before people showed up for their shift, but even though we would have the lot almost done, there would always be at least one person who would park where we hadn’t plowed yet and you would have to avoid hitting their car.

If we can have an ordinance to keep people from parking on snow routes, why can’t we have one for the whole town? It would make our city employees’ jobs easier and faster and make our streets safer.

Whoever designed the parking on main street must have not of considered snow removal, because it must be a nightmare to clean, and the bricks on the streets and sidewalks look nice, but this is Iowa.

On another subject, I love the new trash and recycling bins, but since the city started picking them up on the street instead of the alley, I have had numerous times that they weren’t dumped because of inconsiderate people parking in front of them and the driver won’t get out to move them. It has gotten to where I just leave them out on the street all of the time so they get dumped. I do move them for the snowplow, which I guess is a waste of time because it doesn’t get plowed anyway. Maybe we could have an ordinance to keep people from parking where you put out your trash.

I won’t go into the house next to me that’s been vacant for close to 20 years and has supposed to have been torn down for the last five. It’s been next on the list for the last two or three.

Doug Brand

Fort Dodge