Street gutter question

[3 ladybugs]

Street gutter = The area between the street and the curb. This is more then likely part of the street, but it is the edge of the street. In areas where there are no curb this might be a ditch or something else of the sort. Which would be much more complicated to clean!

 

I insist that this area be as clean as possible. It drives me nuts to see plants (weeds) growing there and garbage stuck there. I just went out and cleaned the leaves from the area so no dirt will form to attract weeds. I have even been known to ask neighbors to move their car (if it is in front of my house) if I think the street cleaner might come in front of my house. My DH thinks I am nuts. It doesn't bother him that much. 

 

So is it just me that hates for the street gutter to be dirty or are there others like me out there?

[maize]

Well, I certainly prefer clean.

 

But I don't stress about it very often. Maybe twice a year I go out and clean it up?

[Rachel]

Our street is shaped weird with a sort of cul de sac to the right of our house. The shape seems to cause gravel to collect in the gutter in front of the house and then prevent water from draining correctly. A couple times a year I’ll go shovel the gravel out of the gutter. What’s weird is that I have no idea where the gravel comes from, we have an asphalt road.

 

My husband can’t stand it when people blow their grass clippings into the street or gutter. I’m not obsessive about weeds or anything though and I have no idea if the street sweeper ever makes it to our street.

[happi duck]

Our town does a great job of keeping the street clean. It makes a big difference during storms.

[8circles]

I like it to be clear, but "clean" as you describe it isn't something I go for. I have been known to get rid of the weeds there if I'm doing my own driveway, but I wouldn't do it just for the gutter.

 

I do, however, care very much about people clearing out their own street gutter in the winter when snow piles up there and then the temps rise and everything starts melting. If you don't clear the snow before temps drop again, someone will have a nasty patch of ice right by their driveway. That bugs me. 

[Sherry in OH]

If I notice trash in the gutter I pick it up.  Mostly this occurs when it is windy on trash day.    The city takes care of leaves and street sweepiing.

 

I worry more about snow and ice than anything else.  There is storm drain at our property line.  If this drain is blocked, runoff pools in front of our driveway and freezes.  Therefore, whenever it snows enough to require shoveling, in addition to the driveway and sidewalks, I shovel the gutter and storm drain.

[SKL]

I don't consider it my responsibility to clean that area.  I really don't care what's there as long as it isn't man-made garbage.  Biodegradable nature is fine.  Road crumbles are fine, as long as they aren't going to hurt my car.

 

I do pick up man-made garbage if I see any.  That happens on windy garbage days etc.

[Laura Corin]

We have an earth ditch.  I don't pay attention to it.

[Carrie12345]

On many of the streets in my neighborhood, that area does have a drainage ditch, and the people who have that in front of their houses are responsible for keeping the ditch clear to prevent flooding.  That does not always happen.  But we also have lots of empty land, so there's no one there to clear those areas.

 

I don't have a ditch, and it's never occurred to me to clean the side of the road.  Frankly, I'm proud of myself when I remember to cut the grass/weeds that are just inside the "curb" area.  There's about a 4' section of growth before the woods start.  I wouldn't leave trash on the side of the road, but that's a very rare issue, and usually caused by bears having their own little block parties a few times a year.

 

We're not really a suburban area, though.  A lot of houses are set back pretty far. Most houses do not have seriously manicured lawns.  Most have a good deal of natural woods.  By which I mean completely untouched, not a managed group of trees. Even paved driveways are still in the minority, though it might be getting closer to 50/50.  We're not really the kind of population that thinks anything of dirt and leaves in on the road.

[JustEm]

I've never paid attention to it

[Kalmia]

We definitely pick up trash alongside our road whenever it occurs which is far more often than you'd think on a dead end, due to the folks who drive down it to the river campsite to party or the vast amount of trash that comes with fair week. Sigh. The town cleans out any culverts blocked by branches or debris and the sticks the beavers try to block the big culvert with at the end of the road. And the fire department came once to rescue my neighbor's dog who had chased a squirrel into a culvert and got stuck. But no one on our road weeds the ditch parts of the roadside as our road is mostly thick woods. People don't weed their lawns much here either. Seeing as the thick beech fir forest doesn't offer up many flowers, we have to let something grow for our neighbor's bees: goldenrod, wild strawberry, dandelion. Mostly the ditch part of the road contains grasses and low growing native plants that can tolerate water occasionally, but there are several patches of lady's tresses orchids in the ditches that I most certainly wouldn't want weeded (and until they bloom, they look like weeds). However, I doubt accidentally pulling up orchids is a danger in your average suburb. I think low growing plants like grass and weeds slow the rate at which storm water flows through the ditch. The faster it goes the worse for the sewer system in urban/suburban areas and for flooding in rural areas like ours.

[Miss Tick]

Our house is situated in such a way that we don't have a gutter or a sidewalk. We are kind of tucked in the midst of other houses and road ends with a long driveway. So not only do I not have gutters to worry about, I don't have any public sidewalks to shovel. Joy!

 

However, seeing small trees growing out of people's roof gutters makes me want to get a ladder.

[marbel]

I'll pick up trash in the gutter but that's it.  Leaves, sticks, gravel can stay.  if we had a storm drain that would be blocked by debris, I'd deal with that.  I never gave the gutter a thought before this thread. 

[KungFuPanda]

Um, stressing about this to the point of asking people to move their cars seems over-the-top to me. I firmly believe everyone is allowed to have a “thing.†But if you have other, similar behaviors to go along with this one, you might want to seek help.

[SparklyUnicorn]

The city cleans them here. 

 

This time of year they are usually buried with snow and ice. 

[MEmama]

The city cleans them here.

 

This time of year they are usually buried with snow and ice.

It's the same here.

 

The town plows our sidewalks too, and in the spring they come around with a machine that gathers the winter's worth of sand and grit on the sidewalks and median before coming around with the street cleaner.

 

I never see trash in the gutter, unless the seagulls get into someone's recycling.

 

We don't live in the kind of neighbourhood or environment where sparkling gutter cleanliness could be a thing though. I could imagine it in a subdivision like where my my in laws live.

[SparklyUnicorn]

It's the same here.

 

The town plows our sidewalks too, and in the spring they come around with a machine that gathers the winter's worth of sand and grit on the sidewalks and median before coming around with the street cleaner.

 

I never see trash in the gutter, unless the seagulls get into someone's recycling.

 

We don't live in the kind of neighbourhood or environment where sparkling gutter cleanliness could be a thing though. I could imagine it in a subdivision like where my my in laws live.

 

Oh I wish they'd plow the sidewalks!  That's nice.

 

Yeah I live in a city.  And it aint a pretty city.  LOL

[Rachel]

It's the same here.

 

The town plows our sidewalks too, and in the spring they come around with a machine that gathers the winter's worth of sand and grit on the sidewalks and median before coming around with the street cleaner.

 

I never see trash in the gutter, unless the seagulls get into someone's recycling.

 

We don't live in the kind of neighbourhood or environment where sparkling gutter cleanliness could be a thing though. I could imagine it in a subdivision like where my my in laws live.

Do they plow neighborhood sidewalks? I’ve never heard of that but wow, that would be nice.

[SKL]

My parents' town plows the sidewalks too.  It is really nice, since it's in the snow belt.  It beats the cities that have laws to fine old people for not being able to get out there and shovel.

[SparklyUnicorn]

We have laws like that here.  It doesn't seem like they are enforced though. 

 

 

[Renthead Mommy]

You would hate it here. They sell fireworks everywhere. New Years eve everyone sets them off out in the street. All the burnt trash bits get left in the street. The big containers got moved but anything small they just left there in the streets. Only in the last week or so have I stopped noticing it. Apparently traffic and wind either broke it down completely or moved it along. And this is not just one neighborhood but all over San Antonio.

 

In CA the street cleaner came by every Tuesday afternoon some time which I thought was a little excessive. It just went around parked cars.

 

But if you asked me to move my car I would probably think you were crazy. Then say sure as soon as I finish xyz. Then close the door, roll my eyes and go about my day. If I was going out then it would be moved, but I probably would not bother otherwise just for a street cleaner.

[MEmama]

Do they plow neighborhood sidewalks? I’ve never heard of that but wow, that would be nice.

Yes, it's awesome! :)