According to city ordinance, property owners have 24 hours to completely clear all ice and snow, the full width of sidewalk down to the concrete, for all walks adjacent to their property.
City Engineer Tim Burkman says when his office receives a complaint about an uncleared sidewalk, the owner is sent a notice and has 48 hours to clear it, or a city contractor will do it… for a big fee.
“It is $183 for that first fifteen minutes. That covers their time getting there, an administration fee and the first fifteen minutes of clearing. Then $44 for every additional fifteen-minute block that the crew is onsite.”
Last winter, Grand Rapids received 467 complaints and crews were forced to clear 80 of those sidewalks – and that was a mild winter.
“In a typical winter we’ll see upwards of 1500-2000 complaints and end up force-plowing 200-300 of those. It is an issue.”
Burkman says clear sidewalks are important for safety, particularly for neighbors, postal carriers, and children walking to and from school.
‘When sidewalks are not clear it forces people to walk in the street which certainly is not a safe option.”
People needing help clearing sidewalks should contract ahead of time with a private company, or neighbor, or can call the United Way at 2-1-1 for assistance.
