Property owners within certain areas in and near downtown are reminded that snow and ice must be removed from sidewalks within 48 hours of accumulation. Following is an excerpt from Chapter 14 of Brattleboro’s Code of Ordinances:
Sec. 14-4. Removal of snow from sidewalks on certain streets – Required.
Upon the following streets or portions of streets each property owner shall clear all snow and ice from any sidewalk or sidewalks adjacent to his property within forty-eight (48) hours of the accumulation thereof: Main Street, Elliot Street to its intersection with School Street, Harris Place, Flat Street, Elm Street, High Street to its intersection with Retting Place, Canal Street to its southerly intersection with Clark Street, and Bridge Street.
Sec. 14-5. Same – By town upon owner’s failure; collection of costs.
(a) In the event that any property owner shall neglect or otherwise fail to remove all snow and ice within forty-eight (48) hours of the accumulation thereof, the town may remove or cause to be removed the same at the expense of the property owner.
(b) In the event that said property owner shall not reimburse the town for such expense within a reasonable time after receiving notice thereof, the town may recover such expense, together with all legal costs, in an action of contract brought under this section.
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Sec. 14-8. Penalty.
A person who violates any provision of this Chapter, unless otherwise provided for, shall be fined fifty dollars ($50.00) and the waiver fee shall be twenty five dollars ($25.00)
TOWN OF BRATTLEBORO
Town Manager’s Office
230 Main Street Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 254-4541 FAX (802) 257-2322
Disregard
Thanks for posting this.
Aside from a stint on the rainy lost coast of Northern California I’ve spent my whole life in snowy northern climes. And of all the cold weather burgs I’ve experienced, Brattleboro is far and away the worst at shoveling its sidewalks. There is a substantial disregard on the part of homeowners and landlords here for pedestrians in winter. Can’t imagine what it would be like to be injured, elderly or frail and try to walk downtown, or God forbid confined to a wheelchair.
And, surprise surprise, it is also one of the few towns I’ve known that has a significant public sidewalk shoveling service.
Is there a connection?
Here’s a proposed revenue generating experiment: do away with public sidewalk shoveling and fine property owners $50 a day for un-shoveled or icy sidewalks. And not just downtown, but any street where it’s dangerous to walk in the street in winter.
Rollers
That might work except for the plows dumping multiple feet of heavy packed snow and ice where homeowners need to shovel. There are times when it is simply impossible to clear the snow, at least on our street.
OK, not impossible, but it would take strong, able-bodied folks a very long time to dig out.
This wouldn’t be a problem if we eliminated cars in town. Everyone could walk in the street. : )
We could even go back to using rollers rather than plows.
That would be welcome but can
That would be welcome but can I graze my horses on your lawn? and who will pick up the garbage besides the raccoons and squirrats and where do I park my car for out of town trips? Maybe only antique cars would be aloud in town that can’t go over 30mph and run on steam or an old fashion Trolley Car system, we have the San Fransico Hills for it, it’s a Currier and Ives/ Norman Rockwell Christmas for sure if that happens!.
One can dream...
I’ll help with your horses. (There’s a nice park near you for grazing, I hear… : ) )
If we were to really try this, we’d further develop (human, solar, battery powered) public transport and come up with rules for deliveries to stores and homes – perhaps vehicles with deliveries could operate on or or two still-maintained roads. Parking lots at the edge of town could store resident vehicles, and public transport too and from would allow folks to get out of town.
A trolley would be fun, and the Brattleboro Monorail Authority is eager to dust off plans and get started.
It would be a bit like the commuter rails into big cities. People would park at the edge and ride in. It would be income-producing for the town.
Or, maybe we keep our main roads but close all side streets to traffic and let the roads become gardens and pathways. Imagine demanding that kids go play in the (former) street.
Perfect
When do we begin? I can plant some asphalt devouring invasive weeds that convert hard top to high nitrogen loam I’m developing for Western Ave that also have traffic snagging vines of incredible strength, enough to slow traffic down to 10 mph. Yeah, let’s keep “that” park green just in case!!
Are We Mere Surfs?
So if the homeowner is responsible for the sidewalk than it’s safe to assume that the homeowners property tax is based on that piece of property. So I guess that it would be the right of the homeowner to do what they want with that sidewalk aside from keeping it clear in the winter.
If government is the only entity that can replace that sidewalk then government can maintain the clearing and upkeep of that sidewalk.
It’s just like the license plate issue. Don’t force me to pay for a new plate that I technically don’t own. If you own the plate, you replace it when you can’t read it. Otherwise I will repaint it accordingly.
I think you mean Smurfs
The town might like to practice what they preach before threatening the Smurfdom.
Help Your Mailman
Around here, people who live in the home they own tend to be pretty good about sidewalk shoveling. Owners of rental properties tend not to shovel, other than to the front door. We pretty much have to shovel for the mailman to reach our mailbox.
It’s interesting to see this posted at all.
Year after year goes by and the rate of non-shoveling has stayed pretty constant.
I wonder why this is coming up now?
Given the number of pedestrian fatalities we’ve had in town over the last decade I hate seeing people walk in the street. At times I can’t blame them but other times you see pedestrians in the street even when the sidewalks are clear. I just don’t get it.
I tend to be crazy the other way. I walk the half mile between my shop & my house blasting through the snow on the unshoveled walkways till there is a path. Many of the driveway plow guys deposit banks of snow onto the sidewalk itself so you end up carving a path up and over. If you do this kind of walking fast enough it becomes a good aerobic workout.
The downside to having your sidewalks clear for walking on is ice. I check mine every morning (unless I forget) to see if they need sand (conditions change daily). The dumbest thing of all would be to do the work to have your sidewalk clear as the town “suggests” (I’m not going to say “requires” till they fine some of the scofflaws) only to have somebody hurt by falling on it.
shoveling sidewalks
i have lived in or around bratt my entire life(except for a short while i was in the air force)& this is the first i have heard of people being responsbile for shoveling the sidewalks