DCentric

Walking in the street because of unshoveled sidewalk, December 2009.

It almost feels dissonant to think of snow during our current, swamp-like, Summery September weather but Hyperlocal Glover Park’s post about snow removal is on point.

Whenever D.C. gets a big snow, an absurd hole in the District’s public-safety law reveals itself. Furious citizens demand that the hole be patched, and lawmakers promise to do so. Then the snow melts and people forget. The law is not fixed. Eventually, it snows again.

And when that happens, snow on unshoveled sidewalks quickly gets trodden down into hard packs, which then freeze into ice sheets that can last for weeks. The sidewalks become unsafe for small children, elderly people, and those with disabilities. People slip and break bones. People walk in the street and get hit by cars. People feel trapped at home for fear of injury.

Angry, frustrated citizens ask why there isn’t a law requiring residents to keep their sidewalks clear. But in fact, there is such a law. According to the D.C. Code (§9-601), anyone whose house fronts a public sidewalk must clear the sidewalk of snow or ice within eight daylight hours of the last flake’s falling.

The problem is, D.C. doesn’t enforce that law.

Last December, City Council members Mary Cheh and Tommy Wells cosponsored a bill that would allow city workers to issue $25 tickets to residents who don’t clear snow as required. This bill was referred to the Council’s Committee on Public Works and Transportation, headed by member Jim Graham—and there it remains, more than nine months later. The committee did hold hearings, and the Council’s Office of Policy Analysis issued a report that recommends “giving ticketing authority to municipal workers.” The report also advises steps already within the District Department of Transportation’s power, such as designing sidewalks for easier snow removal and training snowplow operators to be more mindful of pedestrians’ needs.

That Council committee may not even allow Cheh and Wells’ bill to come to a vote, and that’s a shame, because icy, snow-covered sidewalks are a hazard for all of us, especially the most vulnerable. People who don’t have cars, who must get to their jobs, who often don’t have health insurance are the ones who slip, fall and then find themselves in physical and financial pain because of it. Hyperlocal Glover Park’s post ends with a list of committee members’ email addresses, in case you’d like to let them know your thoughts on this bill.