Sidewalk Safety

• Whether you’re the owner, tenant, occupant or the person in charge of any lot or building, you must clear the snow and/or ice from your sidewalk within four (4) hours after the snow has stopped falling, or by 11 a.m. if the snow stopped falling after 9 p.m. the night before.
• If the snow becomes frozen and too hard to remove, you may spread clean, unused cat litter, salt, sand, sawdust or another similarly suitable material within the same time limits.
• As you clear your sidewalk, keep in mind: YOU MUST NOT THROW SNOW INTO THE STREET.  It’s against the law, and it forces Sanitation to re-plow your street. Also, you should never cover fire hydrants with snow - this could interfere with firefighting efforts.
• The bottom line is sidewalks must be thoroughly cleaned as soon as the weather permits.

Failure to comply with the law may result in fines ranging from $100 to $350.

The rest of Commissioner Doherty’s message may be found here.

Major snowstorms can bring inconvenience and danger but they can also bring an unexpected change of pace, quiet time to reflect and even the exhilaration and joy of snow-play.

Please be careful and stay safe.

[ "Snow Storm" photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alq666/98783134/ ]