You Ask, Patch Answers
What Happens When Homeowners Don't Clear Their Sidewalks?
A reader asked about the town's rules related to sidewalk-shoveling, particularly when said sidewalks are where children wait for the bus.
A reader recently asked us the following question: "What happens when homeowners don't clear their sidewalks, more than 24 hours after a snow storm, and their sidewalks happen to be a bus stop for elementary school students?" The short answer: there's no bylaw in Westborough that imposes penalties on residents who don't shovel their walkways: regardless of whether said sidewalks are near a school. The longer answer: According to John Walden, manager of the Department of Public Works, the town clears the main road and the school walking sidewalks. At one point, the town stopped requiring resident to clear their walks because of the burden on the elderly. Town Manager Jim Malloy clarified further: "We tried re-establishing (the shoveling …
TBH
12:59 pm on Monday, February 4, 2013
This is crazy. It is a matter of public safety. Children and adults should not be forced to walk on the streets. If the town decided on its own to stop enforcing the bylaw, why then is it up to the residents whether or not to reinstate it? Neighbors should look out for the elderly and help with the shoveling...at least that's the way it used to work. The elderly could also be made exempt from … more ›