Why do we allow this to happen every year after it snows?
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Sidewalk clearing at NNHS
by Jerry Reilly | Feb 1, 2022 | Newton | 44 comments
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This is actually the Day Middle school route. Chatted with the crossing guard this morning, apparently the property owner never clears this part of their property after a storm…she was going to report it herself as well.
This is not the only place where sidewalks adjacent to schools are not cleared and kids are walking in the streets. The enforcement mechanism we have now, with reporting and fining, is clearly insufficient. It’s appalling to see the roadway cleared down to bone-dry pavement and the sidewalks still piled with snow, especially along a school route. The city needs to do way more to make sure routes to schools are clear.
Those are condos, so the residents will not clear the path. I think there are six condos in that unit and yes it is Walnut St./Washington the path to FA Day. It is up to the HOA to contract for snow removal, but residents need to tell the HOA or do they split the fine six ways? IDK.
Isn’t that the Walnut/Watertown St. intersection, not Walnut-Washington? In any case, yeah, that’s pretty bad.
Yes…typo by me.
I thought the city plowed the sidewalks along school routes? Or is that only elementary schools?
Not really…very selective. My neighbor who has lived here since 1975 thought they cleared the sidewalk on Lowell and I told him not in sixteen years I have lived here.
Well the city plows Beacon Street sidewalks from Newton Center West. I was told that’s because it’s a school route (Mason Rice).
Selective by Income, perhaps?
There was a house on the corner of Old Field Road and Nardone that didn’t shovel. Kids had a hard time. It is amazing that the homeowner had a clear driveway. (I live on a corner and do my sidewalks.)
We live within four blocks of an elementary school and many houses in our immediate neighborhood have unshoveled sidewalks. Without exception their driveways are clear.
The biggest flaw in the existing sidewalk snow clearing system is that we have no specific way under the snow ordinance to actually remedy an uncleared and hazardous residential sidewalk. We can only warn or fine the owner. That can take days or weeks and has no guaranteed effect. A strategically located property can risk the safety of hundreds of people each day (for instance, a house immediately next to a school route).
In Newton’s ordinances, leaving “stone, bricks, timber or other building materials” on your sidewalk requires a $50 street occupancy fee, and “in case of neglect” can be removed by the city at the owner’s expense. Surely snow neglected on a sidewalk is at least as hazardous. Other communities will clear the snow and ice and bill the owner through their property tax bill.
Inadequate sidewalk snow clearing has been an issue in Newton for years. It will likely continue to be an issue for many more. The biggest obstacle to clear sidewalks are the people who continue to push a municipal responsibility, onto homeowners. Few if any of those people are really familiar with the process of snow clearing on a large scale. They think sidewalk snow clearing can and should be dealt with like in “bucket-brigade” fashion, with fines for those who don’t join in. It’s a ludicrous approach that lets elected officials off the hook and perpetuates the problem of impassable sidewalks.
The city should clear sidewalks along all major pedestrian routes. Problem solved!
I’m assuming in cities like Boston the city does sidewalks. However in Newton, which is much more residential, I was surprised to see that people take issue with doing the sidewalks themselves. It just seems like such small potatoes, especially if people can do their driveways and just are choosing not to do the sidewalks? It seems deliberately spiteful? Am I missing something?
Mike do you have any insight into if this is a Newton thing, a bigger city thing, or something else? I’m asking because I didn’t grow up in Newton but every place I’ve ever lived (spent most of my life in Worcester) it’s been on residents to clear the sidewalks in front of their homes and it’s not an issue like it is in Newton. Sure, there are some houses that don’t but not on this scale. Is it because it’s a new ordinance and people aren’t used to it? Or is it a refusal because they just don’t agree with the ordinance? The unfortunate perception I’m building of some Newton residents is if that they doesn’t like a rule or policy, they feel they can just ignore it or complain enough to make it go away. Is that what people are attempting to do? “Ive never had to shovel the walk, I don’t want to because it slightly inconveniences me, so I’m not going to and I’ll pay a small fine because I have money”.
I don’t agree or disagree with your previous statement, I’m just wondering why a policy is failing in Newton while seeming so successful and simple elsewhere?
@MB–
Sidewalk snow clearing has been an issue in Newton for decades. The City used to plow more sidewalks than they do now. At some point our elected officials realized they could use the money for other things by shifting the responsibility for sidewalks onto homeowners.
I’d be fine with that plan if it worked. But the problem is it’s never worked, [as the photo at the top of this thread illustrates]. There are many reasons why it hasn’t worked. No doubt laziness and ignorance of the law play a role. But there are a lot of people in Newton who are not physically capable of shoveling. Some can’t afford to hire others to shovel for them. I don’t want to make excuses for anyone. I just want a sidewalk snow clearing policy that actually works.
In truth, large scale snow clearing is like a dance that requires a coordinated effort. Un-shoveled sidewalks are only part of the problem. Lots of people complain that the street plows throw snow back onto sidewalks that have already been cleared. Others complain that mounds of plowed snow hinder sight lines at intersections. Most of these issues would go away if the effort was more centralized. So, I believe the City should go back to plowing sidewalks along all major pedestrian routes. People would see immediate results, and we could really fix this problem.
I think you can report these scofflaws on 311, yes?
As I was completing removal of snow on Saturday evening from the walkway in front of my house, a plow came along and launched snow from the street to re-cover the sidewalk. So, it may well not be (entirely) the fault of the owner. It may well be (partially if not fully) the fault of the city.
So folks and others know, it was sorted today by the city. Both sides of Walnut are on the school clearing route it turns out but seemingly lack of equipment or staff etc. meant they had not gotten to the west side. All the other residences and the house under construction were cleared on the west side and the city had plowed the east side. I believe the house is a multi-unit, based on recycling bins, I believe it is a three unit house. By the time I reported it to 311 on Monday afternoon, it had already been reported and then chatting with the guard this morning, she said she would also call it in.
Overall though I am seeing an improvement in clearing, though the quality and width is sometimes lacking. Still significant work by the city and residents is making it easier and safer for all to walk in the winter.
I have commented on this topic on numerous occasions, including this year. At this moment, two houses away, a property owner, young and well off, has left the sidewalk between his driveway and the next neighbor barricaded by a high snowbank, or his plowing service has. He also has neglected to clear the sidewalk from that driveway in the other direction, to Beacon Street. Consequently, pedestrians, be they kids walking to Zervas or seniors walking their dogs, are forced into the street at a perilous intersection. The front of his house, on Beacon Street, was cleared by the city.
Sorry, but no one can wring their hands and offer excuses for this negligence. Money for city government doesn’t grow on trees. Most Newton residents can afford to hire someone to clear sidewalks if they are unable to do so. If they can’t, then city services should step in. I also miss the era when teens circulated through the neighborhood after a storm and offered for pay to clear walks, steps, and driveways. As a kid, I made lots of money doing just that on snow days.
The lack of teens have inflated the costs to $200-$300 per clearing when its a major storm. Certainly not pocket change for most residents
Love these liberal elites speaking on behalf of all residents
As a plowing contractor in Newton let me tell you how it is on our end and what we hear from our customers.
1. Many residents feel like they shouldn’t be paying to maintain the sidewalks but feel the city should
2. Some residents don’t have sidewalks or the city plows it since it is in a school route or busy street. So, how come some residents get the financial benefit of not being forced to do it or gets it for free from the city. We all pay taxes but only a small portion of residents are benefiting from this.
3. We come to remove the snow and hours later a city plow pushes it back over the curb line and it freezes up. We have to come back and charge the customer again. Also, during the blizzard how many of your intersections had snow banks over the curb line or covering handicap ramps? i bet every street had them. Did you know the city was out giving warnings and tickets for residents not shoveling thru the SUV size snow banks that were created by DPW on peoples property and sidewalks. Seems very unfair to me since the city itself didn’t complete their route until after tickets/warnings were given. How can Newton be “Affordable” when it is putting the burden on the homeowner financially and also making them liable for any slip and falls. Plus, many of the new DPW trucks have funnel plows that are designed to push snow way over the curb line onto the sidewalk area.
4. The city takes much longer than the 24hrs to remove snow from sidewalks that they are maintaining. For example, today, days after the ice storm the city made its first pass in my village. How come the city isn’t getting fined? How come my childrens school zone during the blizzard took 4 days to remove the snow from the school zone sidewalks.
I think the best solution is the city should maintain the sidewalk clearing for the entire city. This way during big storms they can push snow over the sidewalk and the next day remove/clear it. Our streets will be safer and our sidewalks will be cleared. I know it all comes down to money but in an average winter it will only cost each resident about $50 per year which is much cheaper then paying a contractor to do it plus the cost of salt. The city maintained the sidewalk snow clearing for many years for the entire city. Now, with better equipment and more money they are pushing it onto the homeowners.
Excellent comment, J. Expecting homeowners to clear the sidewalks yields misery for the homeowners and misery for the pedestrians. It will never, ever be an appropriate solution no matter what kind of penalty/incentive system the city comes up with.
Appropriate maintenance of public infrastructure for all users is a basic role of any responsible government.
Where did you come up with $50 per resident per year to do all sidewalks in the city? That seems extremely low. Why should I take on this financial burden if I’m perfectly capable of clearing my on sidewalk.
In point #4 you acknowledge the city can’t even handle the current sidewalks it is responsible for. How could they possibly handle the entire city in a timely manner.
I came from another Northeast city with larger lots and residents cleared the sidewalks diligently.
It takes a special kind of person to watch people walk in the street because they’re too cheap or lazy to clear the sidewalk.
“The city maintained the sidewalk snow clearing for many years for the entire city”
How many years ago was this? This residents have their property taxes reduces when they became responsible?
Historical context would be great to know
Though I don’t agree with much that J says, some of his points resonate: 1) Those contractors who plow the streets for the city should not barricade the corners with huge snow banks. The snow pile should be distributed along the curb so that the corner houses don’t have to find a way to plow through three or four feet of icy snow to make a passage to the street; 2) In that vein, private contractors should not leave similar snow banks between the driveways they plow and the neighboring sidewalks. When I clear my driveway with my snow blower, I leave the sidewalk open in both directions. 3) We all imagine ways that city services could improve and better meet our needs. But as I have written, Newton’s tax rate is much lower than most of its neighbors, and it simply doesn’t have the money to do everything. I’d like every athletic field in the city to be comparable in quality with those of other western suburbs. I’d like every tennis court (five dozen of them) resurfaced every ten years. But money doesn’t grow on trees. Those of us fit to clear snow off our sidewalks should do it or pay someone to do so. Those unable to do it or pay for it should get relief from the city.
Newton’s average household income continues to grow exponentially, as do its property values. Let’s stop pretending that most residents are too poor to pay if necessary to clear their sidewalks. Compared with comparable communities in Connecticut and the suburbs of New York City, Newton’s taxpayers are getting off easy. As a result, it is on the residents to take care of sidewalks on the shrinking number of snow days, thanks to climate change.
Bob,
How much do you think the average resident pays for snow plow clearance each year? Last quote i got was $250, so perhaps $1000. Thats 10% of what many residents pay for property tax.
Not pocket change. Most of us do not have the benefit of receiving generous life time pensions with healthcare.
Pretty horrible behavior to not clear your sidewalk, especially if you are physically able to do so and your own driveway is clear. People, especially kids, should not have to walk on busy streets.
Seems to me we need to up the penalty. Currently, a first offence gets you a warning, and subsequent offence gets you $50, right? Let’s up the ante. Start with a warning. 2nd offence is $100. 3rd is $200. 4th is $400. 5th is $800. You get the picture. I bet sidewalk cleaning would migrate up the priority list.
Also, my experience is that on many streets, there are a few folks with large snowblowers who clear their sidewalks as well as their neighbors’. Takes 5 extra minutes. I would encourage you all to do the same. A bit of decency goes a long way, particularly if your neighbor is elderly and can’t clean the sidewalk easily him/herself.
Well said
I wonder if we can fine the city for not clearing public sidewalks. Yes, it is annoying when people don’t clear their sidewalks, but I see a LOT of sidewalks that would be classified where the sidewalks are the responsibility of the city. We all are in favor of fining people until we are the ones who are being fined for something. Then we disagree with it.
As to Bob’s point that everyone in Newton can afford to pay for their own plowing, I find that attitude to be classist, elitist and insulting. Believe it or not, Bob, there are people for whom it would be a hardship. There is a reason there is a food bank in Newton. No question this city is extremely wealthy. We have plenty of millionaires and a sprinkling of billionaires. We also have citizens from you never hear, but are struggling financially.
Bugek – what responsibility do we as homeowners have for the safety of people in Newton? How do you balance that against the ability to own a home in Newton? Part of keeping Newton affordable, is keeping transportation affordable. Private car ownership costs over $10,000 a year, when the cost of the car, insurances, maintenance, taxes, etc. are added in.
Our streets and sidewalks are a shared resource. Is safety on our streets and sidewalks a shared responsibility? Currently, it seems to me, the safety of property owned – cars, houses – is prioritized over the safety of people.
Because I live in my house now, does it mean I have the right to live in it until the day I die? Should I expect taxpayers to subsidize me? Many of us have seen big housing falling down around their aging owners in Newton. Is this what we want? Personally, I think many of these aging owners would be happier in a development like the one planned on Crafts St that runs from independent living apartments to full nursing care.
Residents in Newton have a right to not be spoken down to by the liberal elite who think we spend $10k a year on a single car and dont understand why $300 to plow snow each time is ALOT of money…
When did the city turn responsibility over to homeowners to maintain city owned sidewalks?
In anycase, homeowners SHOULD clear the side walk, but talking down to those who cannot afford to do so is beyond the pale
As long as you pay your mortgage and your real estate taxes, you do indeed have the right to stay in your house for however long you want. It is your property if you own it.
“Should I expect taxpayers to subsidize me?” The answer is yes and we all benefit from “subsidies (i.e., taxes). Younger residents of Newton will help to pay for the senior center where I imagine most people who will use it don’t have kids in the public schools anymore. Seniors who do not have children in the system will help to subsidize(i.e., taxes) the school system even though they do not receive any immediate benefit. I never use Webster Woods, but I am helping to subsidize (i.e., taxes). We can’t cherry pick and choose where we want to spend our individual tax dollars. As a community, we all are subsidizing each other in some form or other. Now we can vote to elect people who have particular ideas about how tax revenue should be used, but ultimately we will always pay for services that we never use.
Clearly, not everyone can pay the cost of clearing sidewalks. Those who can’t afford to, I have always said, should get relief from the city, no questions asked. Most of us can afford to pay, however, or we can shovel and plow ourselves. If you are among those unwilling to increase our property taxes, then you can’t expect the city to do everything for you.
This has nothing to do with “liberal elites” (sounds like phony Trump talk, and he routinely evades his taxes and cheats his contractors out of their fees: a real working class hero), and everything to do with civic responsibility. If we are all in this together, we have to contribute to the common good, by paying taxes and fulfilling our communal obligations and helping the needy, which many of us do without fanfare. It’s dangerous for wealthy residents in McMansions to choose not to clear their sidewalks and force both young students and seniors into the street, all in the name of opposing “liberal elites.”
It’s not feasible or necessary for the City to clear all sidewalks of snow in Newton. They should take responsibility for all major pedestrian routes and encourage homeowners to do the rest.
Pedestrians have as much right to clear sidewalks as drivers have to clear roads. It’s a matter of priorities. As long as residents [voters] keep letting public officials shirk their responsibility for clear pedestrian routes, this thread will reappear over and over again, year after year, as it has for many years now.
Here’s a question for those folks who think homeowners should be responsible for snow clearing on major pedestrian routes…
When do you anticipate your method working?
Do you expect clear sidewalks after the next storm?
How about the first storm next year? Will we have clear sidewalks then?
I’m sorry folks, but a lot of you are the enablers of a city policy that was proven to be a failure years ago. We should all be telling our elected officials that sidewalk snow clearance is important to us.
I agree. and technically, the sidewalk isnt on our property right? If I cannot cut down a tree between the sidewalk and the street or install sprinklers on that strip of land, why do i have to shovel the sidewalk? The city should be responsible.
Or, the city should give us claim to our land (sidewalk and land between sidewalk and street) and then it will clearly be on us to shovel it. This current purgatory is strange.
OK Bruce and Bugek – do residents of Newton have the right to walk safely on a sidewalk beside a residential road where the average speed is over 35 mph? Like many sections of Commonwealth Ave, Beacon St., Washington St., Rte 9, … or do residents only have the right to expect safely cleared streets? According to AAA 25% of pedestrians hit by a car going 32 mph are killed.
It is not just rich liberals paying over $10,000 per year for their car, that is the cost including the purchase price of the car over years of use. The est. cost for a car you were given for free is $4,480 annually. https://www.move.org/average-cost-owning-a-car/
Transportation is the 2nd biggest expense for most households in MA after housing.
https://www.bls.gov/regions/new-england/news-release/consumerexpenditures_boston.htm#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20the%20share%20of,national%20average%20of%2016.5%20percent.
We should all share the cost of sidewalk removal of all main roads and school zones with tax money.
Hire contractors who have sidewalk snow blowers which are a cross between a snow blower and plow and are 46″ wide.
Simple.
All this talk about the city doing it. Where do these incredibly short time workers come from? Many places have help wanted signs for steady work. Can’t hire.
Instead … Residents should do it. Civic duty. Period. If not, fine them. Go big. Fine often. Make it real. If resident can’t move snow and can’t pay fine (or afford hiring others) – prove it. Have city ID the place and use very targeted resources to help. In meantime, neighbors, pitch in and help your neighbor. Novel idea eh? Get to know each other. Take pride in your community and be a good person. Don’t be lazy!!
Use limited city resources where needed and where they can make the biggest difference.
What punishment should be inflicted on the city for not plowing infront of city owned buildings?
Really looking forward to neighbors snitching on each other to get fines enforced.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. The city should not be empowered to REQUIRE me to maintain property that iI do not own. If such was the case, then what would stop the city from say requiring neighborhoods to be responsible for clearing snow from school or other municipal sidewalks or lots or maintaining such spaces during other seasons? Your argument (really just an unsubstantiated assertion), makes even less sense given the propensity of plows in the employ of the city to deposit street snow and sleet onto what may already be resident-cleared sidewalks.
Rather property owners who do in fact spend their time and effort clearing city property should be rewarded by the city for the effort. Folks such as yourself, possessing SUCH an abundance civic mindedness (and seeking to impose such a sense on their neighbors), can of course donate their reward to a deserving charity.
The maximum fine is $300. This could actually be cheaper than paying for plowing during a major snowstorm!
I’m simply not comfortable with snitching on my neighbors who dont clear the city owned sidewalks.
I actually had a new customer reach out to me last year. he moved in January to Newton and went on a vacation during February to go skiing. Came back home to several tickets on his front door. he didn’t know the rule since he just moved in and called me to remove the snow. I told him to explain to city hall that you just moved and was unaware of the law and they will probably void the tickets. Long story short….they didn’t and he paid it all. Welcome to Newton!!!!
You can fine the people all day long but once the city pushes snow on the sidewalk you ticket is useless since it wasn’t put there naturally. Also, since it is mostly slush from the salted streets in freezes solid. Then you have you use many bags of ice melt to loosen it up to remove.. we have to go apply ice melt and come back hours later to remove with a flat metal shovel.
What Bugek suggest in many cases it is cheaper to pay the ticket depending on the scope of the job.
@Keith– The “incredibly short time workers” in your scenario would be those responsible for enforcement, not the full time DPW employees or city subcontractors who clear snow only as a part of their jobs.
Here’s the more significant problem with the fines you’ve proposed for your neighbors… They don’t work! If they worked, this conversation would have ended many winters ago. Fines do not result in clear sidewalks. They are simply a mechanism that allows elected officials to shirk the fundamental responsibility of providing clear sidewalks for pedestrians.
Elmo – Who owns the City?
I got the $50 per house from the city. They estimated about 1 mil to 1.5 mil to serve the 31,000 houses/properties in newton. It most likely will be lower since not all streets have sidewalks. My point is many residents are paying way over $50 to hire a company to remove the snow. Also, part of maintaining per city ordinance is to apply salt. just the cost of salt is more than $50 per house. I have customers who have had over 20 applications this year because the snow melts and refreezes and they are worried about law suits and getting tickets. Some already have got tickets for icy conditions because of a complaint.
My point is, many people can afford it and many people can’t. Many people don’t have this expense since they don’t have sidewalks or it is done via the city. So, how come so get it for free and some don’t—-not fair for me. I bet if your side of the street got public education but the house across the street had to pay for private school, would you still think that was fair?
Now, during the big storms all the snowbanks piled up by DPW (because they need to, to make streets clearer) those residents are getting ticketed or pay their contractors to remove snow. I did several houses that needed a bobcat to come over to remove the snow. Contractors were charging $500 to $1000. We charged about $300 to do it which included traveling time.
As for the $50 per house that is only if there is a override. It money is moved within the budget it wont cost anyone anymore money. Worst case scenario it is $50 per house.
Snow plowing is a huge liability i bet any lawyer on here would agree to pay the $50 to avoid any liability from potential lawsuits.
Also, The MGL law states “natural” snow fall which accumulates. If the city pushes snow over the curb line or gets pushed off by the plow going along the curb line you are not required to remove it.
Also, we have customers who are except from this rule because of the health and financial criteria. The city is supposed to send someone over there to do it. Never has happened.
Lastly, for the people who say they can afford it or physically are able to do it and why pay for it…. Please sweep the street in front of your house a since you are benefiting from the street sweeper doing along your frontage but you are physically able too. Also, you may fill in your own potholes too.