New Bloomingdale blogger has 5C meeting notes

A new blog with the name of Bloomingdale (for now) has a review of the 5C meeting posted. A quick look at the notes show there is some desire for brick sidewalks by folks. Yeah, they look nice but they are a %$!@# to shovel when it snows and during icy weather I find them to be more slippery than concrete sidewalks. Also if they are not properly maintained, there are bricks jutting out, just so, to trip you up.

8 thoughts on “New Bloomingdale blogger has 5C meeting notes”

  1. True, the brick sidewalks can get crazy without maintenance, but there are also a lot of concrete sidewalks around our area that are just as bad. Granted, it may have taken them twice as long to get that messed up, but they’re just as bad now.

    I’m partial to bricks for aesthetics. Shoveling them is definitely worse, but for I think the year round looks of the bricks outweighs the shoveling.

    My first request for sidewalks is for them to be litter free. Once that’s accomplished, I’ll get worked up about the construction material.

  2. brick is excellent for the trees.
    more water will seep into the root system.

    of course pourous concrete exists these days.. and it can be stamped and stained in any pattern.

  3. Stamped and stained concrete is sometimes uglier than the good ol’ gray style… if you get a chance head over and witness stamping and staining at its worst on the street crossing at 14th St and S St (near Pulp). I personally find the stamped stars with circles around them in red white and blue to be a disaster. Perhaps there is meaning behind them that I just don’t know of, educate me please!

  4. The day the neighborhood is in good enough shape that we can spend our time arguing about brick vs. concrete sidewalks will be a very happy day indeed… unfortunately we’ve got some more pressing issues to deal with.

    – JM

  6. JM
    Your obsevations recall to mind the great ‘beige vs tan’ debate in Edward Albee’s play, “Waiting For.”

  7. The secret to shoveling brick sidewalks is to shovel across the sidewalk diagonal to the layout of the bricks. Also, keep the handle low so that the plane of the shovel is almost parallel to the sidewalk.

    I won this knowledge the hard way after years of shoveling the walk in front of my place. Trust me, it works!

  8. Brick sidewalks are gorgeous, no question, but they’re really hard on handicapped folks.

    Even the best maintained brick side walks- -and the ones in our neighborhood aren’t and won’t be anytime soon — can be excruciatingly painful and even dangerous to people trying to navigate them in wheelchairs. Exchanging their comfort and safety for a more aesthetically pleasing option is something the folks in Bloomingdale may want to consider.

    anyone seen those recycled rubber sidewalks on N. Capitol?

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