Growing up in EG in the 50's was interesting if not wonderful, for sure.
My class was the first 8th grade class to enter THE NEW EGHS, on Cedar Avenue.
If you lived IN town your were a TOWNIE and did not have shoveled sidewalks and it
was over a mile from THE main street post office, as someone that lived LESS then a
mile and a half from my NEW high school we were not afforded the convenience of a BUS.
BACK THEN, as we would say, the snow was at least 3 feet deep, all winter, of course when at
Eldredge, we were shorter so the snow seemed deeper. Our principal was Archie Cole, go
figure, now the jr high, is of course, Archie Cole Jr High, and now they are tearing down our
NEW high school to open as they say, more better "NEW" jr high school.
Yes it would be wonderful if everything was perfect, I suggest everyone pitch in and help the
town when and where it is required.
Hope you have fun making snowmen and snow angels, like the OLD DAYS.

The 50's- so much simpler and in many ways safer, less cars, no cellphones while driving, kids walked to school- no daily drop off and pick ups surrounding the school with additional cars.

The safety of the town's children should be a priority always, certainly not only in a "perfect" situation.

My hat is off to you, Bruce. As yourself, I grew up in the 50's and 60's and walked to school in 2 or 3 foot of snow. If cell phone users would hang up the phone and drive their vehicles responsibly, children could walk to school and not worry if some one of their friends Mother is going to run them over. As far as the drop off and pickup of students, put your children on the bus and there would be less congestion around all the schools. All the people who have children, seem to be the worse offenders. e.g. speeding, cell phone use, not obeying traffic signs, I could go on and on.

Uncleared sidewalks are a HUGE threat to our children's safety! We live only one block away from Eldredge. My daughter is forced to share her walk to school with a lot of traffic - buses, parents dropping off, local traffic using the Hill as a cut through to Main St. I realize the roads are very narrow due to the outrageous amount of snow we have received, but all the more reason the sidewalks should be cleared for the kids to use. And YES, common sense should tell us that using a cell phone while driving is just a bad idea, talking, texting or otherwise . . . so please don't!

Well I guess nobody in public works, the town council,or the school board is listing or reading any of these comments. I guess you'll have to drive your daughter to school, Mrs. Fish. Maybe we should ask the town manager what happened to all the surplus money the town had from the winters that were not so severe. Maybe we could use some of that money to purchase another bombardier to take care of just the school walks. I personally don't have children but I do care about the safety of all of them.

I have a concern over uncleared sidewalks too! My son attends Cole Middle School and has to walk home on a portion of Post Road. I have been having a battle with the town to please clear the sidewalk so that he does not have to walk in the road. So many people use that road and are forced to walk in the road as the sidewalks are impassable. Right now it is somewhat cleared but not great and he has to go into the street for a portion of his walk. When I lived in Pawtucket, I believe that the property owners were required to clear the walk in front of their property. Is that not true of other towns? If so, why are they not being forced to take care of it? This is a huge problem and the safety of our children and residents depend on it.

While driving up Bleachery Hill, for those who do not know what that is, Route 1/post road
between Forge Road and coming into town, there was a small plow clearing the sidewalk
on the west side of the road, now there is the town being responsive, let us be understanding
in these difficult time, much snow and ice and no place to put it, for sure.
So those TOWNIES going to Archie Cole Middle School will have a side walk, they are trying
God know they are trying, and go figure, another storm due here Saturday, what happened to
global warming, go figure...............

@ NATIVE 1950 & Bruce A Roberts
the fifties and a few decades later were a VERY long time ago. I am currently a Junior at EGHS and i have had to walk on post road many times to get to my art class/ etc. I do not own a car, so i have to walk. Since the sidewalks have not been cleared, AND the plows just make the sidewalks even crappier by pushing the slush onto them, it is very difficult to walk to where i need to be. I have fallen a few times into the road and i was horrified, having thoughts of my blood being splattered all over this main road. The 'sidewalks', rather, Snow mountains, turn icy and slippery, another reason to be cleared. And dont even say 'well then you should take the bus' because usually the busses do not drop you off infront of your house. Students still usually have to walk at least, for me anyway, half a mile to get to my home. And frankly, sorry to be rude, but i dont really care how life was in the 50's or whatever becuase we have the technology now that could be used, but the town doesnt seem to be stepping up to this task... and still, not just for school, but for everyone who doesnt have some way of transportation. i hope i've gotten you to stop using caps lock and also to view it in another's eyes

Sherilyn, this article is about the area sidewalks around the schools and not about walking on Post Road. There are plenty of back streets you can use other than Post Road. If you've got a complaint about Post Rd, you need to contact the State of R.I. This highway runs from Maine to Florida and is maintained by the state, not the Town of East Greenwich. Not to be sarcastic, but you kids are just plain spoiled . Have your parents go to the State DOT and file a complaint about the sidewalks in question and see if you can get the people who live in the area to clean them up. I don't know what else to tell you, Sherilyn. Maybe you can go to Town Hall and try raising your voice as a concerned citizen.

Native 1950, "you kids are just plain spoiled"? That is your response? Although the initial letter was regarding the sidewalks around Eldredge, Sherilyn has a good point. I run down Post Road and have to run in the street. It's dangerous to say the least.

How about everyone who owns a piece of property or a business on Post Road (or anywhere in town for that matter) honor their responsibility to clear the snow and make the passage walkable. It's about time that the town enforces some laws and tickets people who do not take care of their property. Why bother wasting taxpayer money to pass a law and then never enforce it?

Gladys! Obviously you didn't read my comment about people being responsible for their sidewalks. and as far as people running down Post Road in these conditions on the roads, well I'm not even going to touch that one. If you must run, why not go to the gym or buy a treadmill. Makes more sense to me.

I agree with both Gladys and Native. It's silly to have an ordinance and not enforce it. Main Street sidewalks are absolutely awful and they need not be. I don't know who is ultimately responsible for the sidewalk, the owner or the tenant, but there's enough fine money out there to buy and man another Bombadier. With all the other fines, fees and taxes, one would think this would be a field day for the ticket-writers. But no, obviously they do not want to ruffle the merchant feather.
I do feel it's a bit much to expect a clear path for every kid in town to every school he or she might be going to every day of the school year. It behooves us to teach our children how to overcome such difficulties when they occur. Then when they are adults, they will have some experiences that will fortify them with brute survival talents. It's often a mean and difficult world out there.
As far as joggers go, they run in the roads when there is no snow. Nothing new there except perhaps the road is a bit narrower. There are places to run without all the traffic on the main roads.

Really, people...get over it and move on! I think the Town of E.G. does an excellent job with snow removal. Have you visited other surrounding towns and cities lately...Warwick is a mess and so is Cranston...not to mention West Warwick...shall I go on? As for running in the road...I agree, get a treadmill , run on backroads, or join the gym for the winter months. And for those parents concerned for the safety of their children walking in the street, make other arrangements if you don't want them to take the bus...drive them yourself. Do you really think the Town is not concerned with the safety of your children? C'mon, don't be ridiculous!

Mom918, assuming that everyone can drive their children to school is presumptuous - many of the children around Eldredge walk to school and therein lies one of the problems with unshoveled sidewalks. Additionally, many parents work and depend on the bus to take their children to school. Not everyone can, "make other arrangements" to get their kids to school.

As for running on the road and your suggestion of using backroads - those roads are particularly bad and narrow making it a hazard to run - or walk on them. The point I was making about running on the road is that there is no room to run or walk - I deal with it, but I would be upset if my children had to walk Post and have to walk in the street because the sidewalks are not cleared.

The town should enforce the laws in place ensuring a safe passage for runners, walkers and kids alike.

Don't be so self righteous, it's unbecoming.

I drive my son to school every morning but since I am a single parent and rely on my single paycheck, it is impossible for me to get out of work and go pick him up and drive him home the 1/2 mile home when it is the property owners/state/town's (whomever!) responsibility to clear the walks. Really. I don't want my child walking in the road, or any human for that matter. Post Road is a dangerous road in the best of conditions. When you have people texting and phoning while they are driving it just adds to the deplorable conditions. There is no way for him to take the back streets home because there really aren't any to take to get from Cedar Ave to our home. It's pretty apparent from the posts on who has children and loved ones who depend on the sidewalks to get from point A to point B. I am saddened that the safety of our residents and children is not a concern for all of us.

The town officials aren't concerned enough--On February 4th, I was traveling north on main st at about 3:00pm and witnessed my niece and two other girls having a difficult time crossing from greene st to main st and almost getting hit by a car. There is suppose to be a crossing guard/cop there to assist the children from Eldridge school. This is a big safety issue and the town needs to take action to assure there is a crossing guard available for the children. As a Warwick resident who travels down main st daily from his commute from work in N Kingstown I see on a daily basis the danger of adults and especialy children trying to cross main st.

Do we know the stats on pedestrian accidents on Main Street/Post Road? Or roads around schools in town?
It's all sketchy for sure but I agree with comments that remind us that our kids (11 and up) need to learn how to navigate in the big bad world. Really, most of us with kids that age grew up in a time of Camaros with steroes cranked, beer firmly planted between legs. Hardly the '50s!

Frankly, I think the upper elementary/middle school kids are capable much more than many parents give them credit for. How about the School Department telling the bus company to tell their drivers to slow down and parents tell their kids to be extra cautious?

Hey, how about simply enforcing the existing laws??? Why do we pay to have laws vetted & passed if they are in name only??