Do You Suppose This Is How Things Are Handled Elsewhere, Too?

Last year the stairs were off limits. 
This year they are partially cleared, full
 of ice and snow and ready to be walked on!

Sometime yesterday, the day after DPW cleared Promenade Park's ADA ramps of snow while ignoring all the stairs, they thought better and decided to clear the stairs of Tuesday's 2 inches of snow.

They ran into a little problem they likely had not anticipated, however. 

Since they had allowed the snow to remain on the precious stone stairs and had allowed park patrons to use the stairs (there was nothing to prevent the use of the stairs), the snow got kicked around and most of it turned slushy. Then, surprise of surprises, the slushy snow on the stairs turned to ice in -- wait for it! -- THE COLD WINTER TEMPRERTURES most people expect this time of the year.

So, when DPW returned for a second time to clear the entrance of snow to keep patrons safe and feeling welcome (who made that decision?), their shovels were no match for the ice that had readily attached itself to many of the stairs.  Alas, our DPW was not able to completely clear all of the stairs of winter's gifts.  And since the stairs are so precious and expensive, neither salt nor ice choppers could be utilized to remove the ice on the stairs at the new, improved entrance to the city's most popular outdoor destination.  Not even the inch-or-two-thick ice found at the sides of the stairs along the railings was able to be removed.  Gifts, indeed!

Ice under the snow!  Welcome to the park!

Those icy stairs will remain slippery dangerous all of today and tonight, all of tomorrow, Sunday and Monday in the -- wait for it again! -- COLD WINTER TEMPERATURES so common this time of year.  By late Tuesday, one week after the 2-inches of snow fell, the ice found on the stairs to our crown jewel and the area's most stunning views of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River will likely have melted.  Of course, it's winter, so freezing temperatures can stick around for weeks, even months, like winters of yore.  It's still possible, but it appears that won't be the case, starting early next week. 

Perhaps our DPW Superintendent has a new irrational approach to making Promenade Park as safe, respectable and welcoming as possible to anyone wanting a view of the snowy mountains and icy river while out for a stroll in the winter.  His approach might be summed up as thus:  Do as little as possible and hope for warm weather.  You know, an approach that benefits everyone.