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Editorial: City’s snow removal policy unfair to citizens

By Andrew Hammond

Monday, January 25, 2010

The snowdrifts may have melted, but frustration over the city’s snow removal policy remains. Lawrence residents can receive a $75 ticket if they do not—or cannot—remove the snow on the sidewalk in front of their house. This fine is unfair and the city should change its policy.

Reader poll

Do you think the city's snow removal policy is fair to residents?

  • Yes 38% 19 votes
  • No 46% 23 votes
  • Not sure 10% 5 votes
  • Indifferent 4% 2 votes

49 total votes.

Aaron Cromwell, Lawrence City Commissioner, said the tickets were implemented after the city noticed that citizens were not removing the snow on their own. While this may save some money for the city, which has plowed through it’s snow removal budget for the year, it is unfair to citizens. A lot of University students were not in town over the holidays when Lawrence received a staggering amount of snow, this made it nearly impossible for them to adhere to the city’s policy. Also, this time of year heart attacks from shoveling snow are common. This makes it not only difficult, but dangerous for citizens to take care of the sidewalks in front of their homes.

Sidewalks are public property. When they aren’t covered in snow citizens can’t do whatever they want on them. It is unfair of the city to require citizens to take care of something that the city owns.

The city’s policy is not only unfair, it is ineffective. Warm weather, not the city’s snowplows or the citizens’ shovels, finally cleared the roads and sidewalks.

Snow removal issues are also prevalent on campus. Anyone who tried to park on campus the first few weeks of school surely noticed some problems. Mounds of snow could be found all over campus and while they were fun to climb on, they took up parking spaces that could have been used by students and faculty who had paid for a parking pass.

We haven’t even made it through January, Lawrence is sure to receive more snow before winter is over; according to weather.com we may even see snow Thursday. Both the city and University should work to improve their snow removal policies. Hopefully we won’t have to rely on Mother Nature to clear the streets for us after the next big snowstorm.

— Andrew Hammond for the Editorial Board

Comments

Editorial: City’s snow removal policy unfair to citizens

Unless the students own their property, they should not be responsible for removing the snow in front of it. As I read it, the city code makes it clear that the property owner is the one that is supposed to remove the snow or be cited. The city has a record of property owners and where to send property tax invoices. That is where the tickets for failure to remove snow should go, as well. If the citation is given to a tenant on the property, s/he should forward it to the landlord, who can forward it to the owner.

If the student owns the property, s/he should take care to make sure someone checks up on it before leaving for a long vacation. Not only is there snow to worry about, but also the heating (to ensure pipes don't freeze), lighting (to deter thieves), mail and newspapers (unless stopped), and situations that can cause property damage (vandalism, fire, busted pipes, electrical problems, maybe even the heater failing to name a few).

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