The in basket: Leslie Varner found the sidewalk in front of Central Kitsap High School a perilous place to walk in Jan. 24.
“We were walking down Bucklin Hill beside CK High and it
was a real challenge with all the road sand on the sidewalk,” Leslie said. “My guess is it’s overspray from sanding the roads.
“It’s a steep area and traveled on daily by students.
I’m really concerned that someone is
going to slip and actually fall in front of a car. The cars are picking
up speed to head up the hill towards Seabeck. I actually did slip on
the sand and fall down last night. Luckily at my age, crashing to the
ground is a bruising experience, but does not cause broken bones.”
The out basket: I asked if the county includes sidewalks in the places it sweeps up sand from the winter ice and snow control, as it does and already has begun on the roads itself, including shoulders.
Doug Bear, spokesman for Kitsap County Public Works replied, “Keeping sidewalks free from snow, ice and other obstructions is the responsibility of the person or entity whose property abuts the sidewalk, per Chapter 9.28.020 of the Kitsap County Code. Kitsap County Public Works does not normally maintain or clear sidewalks during snow and ice operations. I contacted the Central Kitsap School District on behalf of your reader and they responded immediately to clean the sand from the sidewalks.”
