At the April 19th Public Works Committee meeting, committee members reviewed several sidewalk plowing options and asked staff to draft a plan. Consensus at the time was that town home associations would be responsible for sidewalks in their developments and that residential sidewalks would be cleared by adjacent property owners. The city would continue to be responsible for the school walking areas, sidewalks adjacent to State Aid roads and all trails. These areas would be maintained by city staff or contracted services. A map of the areas to be maintained by the city is attached.

 

Because this is a major change in our winter maintenance policy, public notification would have to be given several times and in all outlets available before the snow season begins. Townhome associations would be notified through certified mail.

Issues that will need to be addressed with the new policy will be compliance and enforcement. Staff feels that 48 hours seems to be a reasonable time to require sidewalks to be cleared by residents and townhome associations. One challenge that will surface is who will be responsible for vacant lots in developments? Some developments have areas where there are lengthy stretches between occupied homes. It will also have to be determined what department will be responsible for enforcement and what type of fine system will be used. Staff would recommend that the first year be geared more towards education of the new policy and less towards citations and fines.