In the process of scraping the flotsam that had grown in the sidewalk gutter, it struck me that either I had grown to much larger proportions, or the sidewalk was narrower. Rejecting the former, I took my trusty trenching shovel and dug in on the yard side; 45 inches became nearly 49 inches. Whether on the waist or on a public sidewalk, that is a significant difference.

I think it is still on the City of Rockland books that there is city yard repair following winter. I even recall that occurring years ago. Even if on the books, that doesn't mean you wait for that action, but I would rather not count on it because I need no excuses to avoid strenuous yard repair.

In the Spring, I removed 10 gallons of dirt from the neighboring yard that had been pushed there by the sidewalk plow. The plow does not have width adjustments. Its size is its size. If the plow driver has a narrower path to follow due to dirt accumulating over the winters, the job can't be as clean as it could be, nor as safe because the plow can't stay on track.

The attached photographs show the difference. The width increased safely by 3 1/2 to 4 inches, before the paving starts to drop off.

Also shown is the need for a good quality cement broom sweeping, so if anyone has an extra... but I hope those extra inches provide some relief for both pedestrians, and the city snow plow drivers. It only took a trenching shovel to do it.

Maggie Trout lives in Rockland