Editorial: Shovel the snow, or else …

Last week’s record snow storm provided an enjoyable snow day streak, but by now we’re all… Last week’s record snow storm provided an enjoyable snow day streak, but by now we’re all getting tired of winter. Snow-laden Pittsburgh might be aesthetically pleasing, but the laborious trudge through snowy sidewalks will make anyone gripe, and is a very real safety hazard.

Those brave enough waddled through shoe-print snow trails formed by those even braver, yet some sidewalks were all but impassable for the pedestrian. But if everyone did his job, we might not have been in such a snow-bound state.

According to city ordinance, the city’s Public Works Department can issue citations to residents who fail to shovel sidewalks in the front of their property within 24 hours after the snowfall. After receiving a warning, violators can be issued a $25 fine. But here’s the thing: they aren’t.

“We’re not enforcing the law now,” Rob Kaczorowski, city Public Works director, said. Turns out the department isn’t enforcing the law because of the unusually significant amount of snow.

This mindset is a bit illogical. If you don’t enforce sidewalk shoveling when there’s enough snow on the ground for it to be necessary for the city to function, when do you enforce it?

Oakland had its share of unkept sidewalks. Of course, many of the residents are college-aged. But even if students are a little bit more limber and less likely to suffer a crippling sidewalk-slip, the conditions were dangerous to all. Since the roads were themselves hardly snow-free, some students inevitably opted for the sidewalk rather than trying to drive or catch a bus.

Many other Oakland residents are not college-aged, and this problem certainly isn’t limited to one neighborhood.

Also, with sidewalks that are increasingly difficult to trudge, pedestrians are inclined to walk in the narrow part of the street cleared by tire tracks or snow plows. Given already slippery conditions for drivers, this is even more unsafe for both them and the displaced pedestrians.

Kaczorowski said the city rarely hands out the citations and expects property owners to uphold their property. As has been demonstrated, that outlook’s become too idealistic.

From a pension crisis to a lack of funds for snow removal itself, the city sure could use some extra money. The $25 for a violation isn’t going to buy Pittsburgh a private salt quarry, but it could create an extra source of revenue that could help relieve Pittsburgh’s emergency expenses.

Those physically unable to shovel snow still need to take responsibility for their sidewalks by making arrangements to have them shoveled by others, whether it be a friend or a hired shovel.

By not enforcing this law, the Public Works Department is prompting people to be lazy at the cost of others. Enforcement means a degree of manual labor for those not equipped with a snow blower, but if it meant avoiding a fine, you can be sure that with more snow on the sidewalks, there’d be more snow shovels, less perturbed pedestrians and a few more dollars in the city’s salt budget.