INDIANAPOLIS — After several inches of snow were dumped on central and southern Indiana, homeowners spent Monday digging out.
A lot of people focus on their driveways and walkways, but in a lot of places if you don’t take care of the sidewalks in front of your property you could be fined for violating city code.
According to the City of Indianapolis, homeowners who didn’t shovel their sidewalks by 7 p.m. on Monday could face a $50 fine.
The city’s policy is that if snow stops falling after 7 p.m. then the sidewalk has to be cleared by 9 a.m. the following morning. If snow stops falling after 9 a.m. then the sidewalks have to be cleared by 7 p.m. that evening.
The policy says that the path must be 5 feet wide and cannot be put into the street or block alleyways.
However, the city’s Department of Business and Neighborhood Services said it never actually issued a ticket.
“For us, it is more of an opportunity to educate the public on why snow removal is so important,” a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson used mail carriers as an example and said not clearing the sidewalks can be dangerous for them.
Other cities have similar ordinances. The City of Bloomington, which saw some of the state’s heaviest snowfall, requires property owners to remove snow and ice from sidewalks within 24 hours.
Fines there start at $50 for the first offense and go up from there.
The City of Carmel requires property owners to clean its adjacent sidewalks by noon each day if snow or ice has accumulated within the past 24 hours. The city does not list specific fines.
“I think it’s our responsibility as a homeowner to clear the way for those because the city doesn’t do it,” Braxton Bird said.
Bird was shoveling his mother-in-law’s sidewalks on Monday afternoon. He said he was aware of Indianapolis’ ordinance and said shoveling would make it so people don’t have to get around on cross-country skis which is how he made it to his mother-in-law’s home.
The snow Indiana received from this storm will likely be sticking around for a while as temperatures plummet and additional snow could be in the forecast.
If sidewalks stay snow-covered for a long period of time, you report them to your local code enforcement. In Indianapolis, you can do so by calling the Mayor’s Action Center at 317-327-4622.
