As expected, the Oak Park village board last week unanimously approved a new law requiring shoveling of public sidewalks. Walks need to be cleared within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall, or a fine can be imposed on the property owner. Fines can be as much as $750, Village Atty. Ray Heise said.
The vote was 4-0, with trustees Robert Milstein and Elizabeth Brady absent.
The village will enforce the ordinance by way of complaints, said Village Manager Tom Barwin. Fines won’t begin until next snow season.
The law does not address clearing the ridge of snow created by snowplows between shoveled walks and plowed streets on the village’s approximately 2,000 corners.
Slippery conditions, combined with reduced visibility and the snow ridges, are “a tragic accident waiting to happen,” said Janet Prior Gayes, of the 600 block of Woodbine Avenue, whose son uses a wheelchair. “What’s proposed sounds good, but I think we need to go further.”
But cost and workforce constraints stand in the way, said John Wielebnicki, Oak Park Public Works director.
“It’s a challenge to us just to keep ahead of” clearing streets, alleys, school crosswalks and shuttle stops, Wielebnicki said. Clearing sidewalks, or even curb cuts, would require hiring more workers, he added, noting there are 500 intersections in Oak Park, meaning 2,000 corners and 4,000 curb cuts, not to mention any mid-block curb cuts.
Jim Kelly, of the 1000 block of South Harvey Avenue, said many people see it as “unthinkable” to not shovel their walks, or those of people who can’t do their own.
“It’s a value, a belief,” Kelly said.
Barwin agreed, saying the law is a way to raise awareness about the importance of clearing right-of-way paths.
Trustee Galen Gockel pointed out that the village, as one of the largest property owners, would need to set the example in shoveling its walks, and that additional manpower might be necessary.
“I just don’t see any way out of it,” Gockel said.
Trustees suggested that village staff members look at organizing neighborhoods with point persons to help oversee sidewalk clearing block by block.
A free service would be available for people who are unable to shovel their walks, Barwin said.
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READER COMMENTS
Corner owners have twice the shoveling
Below are edited reader responses posted to our website, www.WednesdayJournalOnline.com. You, too, can tell us what you think at the end of any story:
I fully support a sidewalk-shoveling ordinance for accumulations that are greater than an inch or so. It is essential that the village address the issue of the curb cuts. I own a corner house and routinely clean the curb cuts and a few feet of the adjacent street area only to find that the village plows also routinely bury these areas under mounds of slush and ice [which] creates conditions that are especially unsafe for children and for adults who are unsteady on their feet. Those who can’t climb over these ice hills are often left with no choice but to walk down the street. -Peter Creticos
I live on a corner lot. This means I have an extra 150 feet of sidewalk to shovel, two places where the sidewalk meets the street, and one place where the sidewalk meets the alley. It is nice for Village Manager Tom Barwin to suggest that I should take responsibility for all this heavy lifting. I hope he lives on a corner, too, and does this work himself. -Robert Peterson
I am a bit troubled by this proposal. As a “corner” homeowner, I don’t mind a reasonable bit of shoveling. The troublesome part is that … it is not unusual for [snowplows] to come by and dump snow at all the curb cuts-and my driveway-two and three times over the course of a day. Am I expected to continually clean up after the plows as well as Mother Nature?
-Sharon Carr
I am 110 percent in support of a proposal that requires shoveling within 24 hours if the snowfall is 2 inches or more! I am a walker and I have owned a corner house in the past in a city that had a snow-shoveling ordinance (St. Paul, Minn.). Yes, snow shoveling is work, but consideration for the mail deliverers, walkers of all ages (elderly and schoolchildren), and delivery folks is more important in my opinion than some inconvenience to a homeowner. -Kitty Conklin