property taxes - why we pay them

[Thorin]

The area I live in is a large city with smaller towns around it.  One of those towns, where I live, is generally regarded as one of the highest-property-tax towns in the area.  We had a huge snowdump recently and the town has to get the snow off the road.  So here in my town, they're sending graders down the street, but they've also sent bobcats (mini-front-end-loaders) to scrape the first ten feet of everyone's driveways!

Yeah, the taxes are high, but it sure is nice of them to make the roads and the driveways negotiable without a four wheel drive.

[Mr. Analog]

Well there are two parts to the equation when it comes to public service:
-Ability
-Resources

Taxes don't count for much if they aren't utilized properly (e.g. NYC CityTime Project, egads)

There's a balance.

[Darren Dirt]

The area I live in is a large city with smaller towns around it.  One of those towns, where I live, is generally regarded as one of the highest-property-tax towns in the area.  We had a huge snowdump recently and the town has to get the snow off the road.

That was one thing that took me a while to get used to in Edmonton -- the St. Albert roads -- including pretty much every crescent and even most tiny cul-de-sacs -- were cleared (or at least packed down) virtually overnight, even with the sick dumps of the white stuff we got in the mid-to-late 1980s.

In Edmonton, afte the first heavy snowfall that's gonna be here for good, for a lot of residential areas it's basically "yeah any non-4x4 is likely to get stuck easily, but just what can ya do, suck it up and suffer until March/April melting begins".

[Mr. Analog]

I point the finger at whomever manages Edmonton road maintenance.

This has been a hot button issue on the radio for a few days, and I'm not saying they aren't improving, there IS a LOT to be desired though.

You'd think by now we'd have snow removal down to a fine art, but we don't. Hell, if it's gonna be like 2010 again we might not even know where the heck to PUT the stuff once we clear it.

[Thorin]

Right, so I tried pretty hard to avoid actual municipality names   But yeah, the roads are pretty well maintained here.  It did take a week or so, though.  But then, there was a lot of snow.

Mr. A, are you referring to the 17-storey snow mountain that didn't finish melting until almost the next winter?

[Mr. Analog]

That's the one!

And yeah, The City of Edmonton has a lot to answer for, especially as the population grows.

I get that weather conditions are different here than most places in Canada but it's Edmonton, and it's BEEN Edmonton for years so what's the deal?

...and I don't even DRIVE

[Darren Dirt]

I get that weather conditions are different here than most places in Canada but it's Edmonton, and it's BEEN Edmonton for years so what's the deal?

It's a question of that Critical Mass "Zero Point" balancing the Critical Roads vs. the "meh, we'll endure until the spring" roads.

There must be a limit to what taxes can be justified to pay for; I wonder if in Sweden they keep clear every single road, no matter how small or quiet, during the heavy snowfall season...

[Thorin]

They're trying to save money so they can build a new arena to replace the old fully-functional arena.

</sarcasm>

Edmonton road management just has it in their heads that they have to save money for that One Big Snowfall that everyone knows is coming, so they try to scrimp and save for as long as possible.

Whereas St Albert got sued for million or so when a teenage girl got killed when she made a bad left turn and a semi coming down a hill couldn't stop in time due to ice and snow on the road, so now they make sure all the main roads are attended to right away.  And then residents complained about getting stuck in the side roads (and lawsuits were threatened) so now the side roads all get plowed two or three times per winter.

[CowGirl]

Whereas St Albert got sued for million or so when a teenage girl got killed when she made a bad left turn and a semi coming down a hill couldn't stop in time due to ice and snow on the road, so now they make sure all the main roads are attended to right away.  And then residents complained about getting stuck in the side roads (and lawsuits were threatened) so now the side roads all get plowed two or three times per winter.

I remember that accident. Sister of a girl I went to school with.  I remember a lot of kids being in an uproar regarding the conditions of the road.  If I remember correctly it was still snowing the day it happened. But once again people looking to throw the blame on someone else instead of standing up for what was done.