Sidewalk Strips

[ckokotay]

Decided to do a small town (older areas are presumed to be safer than the inner city) - parks and sidewalk strips, with a friend. We even called the police department in advance just to make sure it was ok, and they said it would be no problem. Essentially, we had a homeowner almost violently react to our presence (no one was even digging - we were on the sidewalk itself, just swinging over the strip!), screaming that we were on his property (sidewalk strip). He did this twice then called the police, who were aware we were there because we previously called. The officer came and did not uphold the law, but rather took the easy way out, suggesting a park and some other local public property - and not bothering to talk to the property owner. He also felt the need to take out SSN's and run checks. That may be just their standard procedure, but I found it extremely offensive - we did nothing wrong, which was acknowledged. Such is probably the deal in small towns - forget the law if there is any sign of upsetting the peace. We just ended up leaving the town - which was Pemberville, Ohio for the record. Very upsetting experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth - both from the homeowner and police persepective, and I doubt I will be going out again anytime soon, at least to any smaller communities (I have had no problem in Toledo where I live).

Again, though for the record, the sidewalk strip is a public easement, and if we wanted to press the issue, there was nothing he could do about it.

On the plus side, the trip was not a total bust, I found a walker (1943) in a park about 4 inches down.

[portraitartist]

I am from a small town in Texas, and in my heyday (15+ years ago) when I was hunting there, at least, no one seemed to care. Just use common sense, and show respect and good judgment, and you'll usually not have any problems... every situation is different, and you have to do a value judgment for every one.

And yes, sidewalk easements are usually heavy with coins, and the older, the better. A lot of my better finds were made right up against the concrete. One thing to note - if the machine beeps over the sidewalk, it's a good chance that it's fairly new, as the older sidewalks did not have re-bar in them, and will usually show a lot more cracks. And, as some coins end up on edge after falling off the sidewalk, they will give a false pinpoint and are harder to locate. A tip for that is to turn your coil on its edge and sweep - a lot of the time you'll get the hit over the coin.

Hope that helps!

[FinalLastDays]

Originally Posted by ckokotay

Decided to do a small town (older areas are presumed to be safer than the inner city) - parks and sidewalk strips, with a friend. We even called the police department in advance just to make sure it was ok, and they said it would be no problem. Essentially, we had a homeowner almost violently react to our presence (no one was even digging - we were on the sidewalk itself, just swinging over the strip!), screaming that we were on his property (sidewalk strip). He did this twice then called the police, who were aware we were there because we previously called. The officer came and did not uphold the law, but rather took the easy way out, suggesting a park and some other local public property - and not bothering to talk to the property owner. He also felt the need to take out SSN's and run checks. That may be just their standard procedure, but I found it extremely offensive - we did nothing wrong, which was acknowledged. Such is probably the deal in small towns - forget the law if there is any sign of upsetting the peace. We just ended up leaving the town - which was Pemberville, Ohio for the record. Very upsetting experience has left a very bad taste in my mouth - both from the homeowner and police persepective, and I doubt I will be going out again anytime soon, at least to any smaller communities (I have had no problem in Toledo where I live).

Again, though for the record, the sidewalk strip is a public easement, and if we wanted to press the issue, there was nothing he could do about it.

On the plus side, the trip was not a total bust, I found a walker (1943) in a park about 4 inches down.

I get written permission, mostly through email, to metal detect public parks in the cities I plan on going to. This way I cover all legal grounds just in case I am approached by law enforcement or park officials. One of the letters paid off in a nearby city from where I live. A buddy and I had just started sweeping our coils when we were approached by a park security guard and if I didn't have the letter my buddy and I would have been told to leave. I keep all letters in an envelope that is kept in my truck as well as copies in my filing cabinet here at home. I have thought about requesting permission from City Hall in different cities for sidewalk tearups for the same purposes mentioned above. Wouldn't hurt to carry a copy of city permitted grants in your pocket.

[pghbob]

the grass strips are under city prop. But since the homeowner takes care of it he of she has the right of use and should be asked if you can detect it. I've done it and only one person got incest about it. state what you are doing and ask permission to continue. If not go to the next one

[EPC Guy]

On sidewalk grass strips, I use the approach that "it's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission"! So - if someone gets irate, I'll politely move on - but as someone already noted - if someone has the chance to say yes or no in advance - it's likely to be "no".

One last comment...when was the last time you saw a city utility crew or other "official" department ask for permission to work in a sidewalk area?

Always be polite, dig correctly and you should be fine

[Patriot]

Originally Posted by EPC Guy

One last comment...when was the last time you saw a city utility crew or other "official" department ask for permission to work in a sidewalk area?

Tell me about it - a couple years ago the city ripped up about 15 feet of the end of my driveway, and we were never even told! I just woke up one morning with a work crew tearing up my driveway to get at some pipe lines. They replaced it, but what a pain!!

I live in an old town, so these strips sound like a great place!

Chris