I have some stupid questions for you guys who live in places where it snows all the time. When I lived up north, I was a dirt-poor student, but I was fortunate that the landlords shoveled the sidewalk for me (They claimed the city had a law & you would get ticketed if you didn't clear it). But I had to shovel a path to the car, and the car itself, with a dustpan because I didn't have a shovel and didn't have the money to hire it done. It took all day. I don't think I've ever cursed that much, before or since. Anyway...
-Is it true that cities have laws/ordinances that require you to keep the sidewalk in front of your house shoveled? If it belongs to the city, why aren't they officially responsible for it? What if you're out of town or something? If there are laws to such effect, I guess I understand the reasoning -- a lot of people used the sidewalks where I lived and you would have to walk on the street if the snow wasn't cleared. But do they actually enforce it?!
-What do elderly or handicapped people do if they can't get out & shovel the snow?
-What if they can't afford to pay someone to do it? Then what?
These are obviously not important questions if you're sitting there with something to do, but if anyone is bored, I would be interested in hearing from you. :-)
What do elderly or handicapped people do if they can't get out & shovel the snow?
-What if they can't afford to pay someone to do it? Then what?
Usually, emphasis on usually there is a good family member(I did it for my grandparents) or neighbor or someone from the disability, senior citizen community service facility will clear it or out source snow clearing
One time however, a woman wouldn't let my ex make a call from her phone. Our car had konked out in a drift, right in front of her house. The roads had become impassable.
Some dude in a Suburban finally came along and drove us the short distance to our house.
Looking back... I could understand her hesitation to let us use her phone... but it WAS a bad situation for us. Go figure.
Folks who want that sidewalk in front of their property may be required by the owner of the sidewalk to keep it clean.
In nearly every instance at one time or the other the owners of such sites have elected to have a public sidewalk, so that's become part of the deed description. I doubt you could actually remove the sidewalk and thereby get out of keeping it clean.
Here in Fairfax Virginia we used to have a law that PROHIBITED you from cleaning a public sidewalk. That was strictly the prorogative of the government!
Hi, Nita,
Yes, many towns do have laws requiring you to clear the path.
Also, if something happens to someone (slip and fall) on your own property, you may be liable and/or it could affect your insurance.
In our neighborhood, we shovel our own then just go along and help whomever seems to need help. My neighbors were great when I was pregnant and when my daughter was young. They just came over and helped out (ordering me not to do any shoveling.) If someone is sick or elderly, then others help out. Of course, we have the younger teenagers in the neighborhood who can make a couple dollars helping to shovel, too. And then one year, one neighbor got a really nice snowblower and did the neighbors' yards around him. lol
I look at it as good exercise. If you plan the shoveling and do it properly, you can get a good workout. In a storm like this, pacing yourself works. We usually go out in shifts every four to six inches or so. That way, you can get outside the door and it doesn't seem so overwhelming.
Yes, we have a law that your sidewalk must be cleared within 24 hours of the snow. I doubt if they enforce this law very much. I live in the suburbs near D.C. in a fairly new planned community. I was pleasantly surprised to see an article in our recent community newspaper about an organized effort to sign up to help shovel snow for the folks that aren't able to. It's been my experience that people tend to chip in and help their neighbors in big snow storms.
Yes, it is true that most cities have ordinances that require you to shovel the sidewalks in front of your property. I was actually sued one time because a newspaper boy slipped on my icy sidewalk. The reason for this is that if you don't keep the sidewalks clear, pedestrians will be forced to walk out in the street where they could be hit by a moving car (snowbanks make the streets much narrower).
It is just not practical for the city to clear all of the sidewalks though some towns now clear sidewalks on major streets with riding snowblowers.
When I lived in the city, I would shovel the sidewalks in front of a neighbor's house because they were elderly. Now I live in the country where there are no sidewalks but I do have a 80 foot by 20 foot driveway to shovel! My back hurts just thinking about it. One of these days, I'll get a snowblower but it just seems such a waste to pay so much for a device that I might only use 5 or 6 times a year.
If you call and tell them the city has to send someone out to clear it.
Some municipalities do have a shoveling ordinence (Boston area). Our next door neighbor is elderly. We shovel her sidewalk and front steps. When ze beeg one comes, everyone pitches in.