What Happens When Homeowners Don't Clear Their Sidewalks?

A reader recently asked us the following question: "What happens when homeowners don't clear their sidewalks, more than 24 hours after a snow storm, and their sidewalks happen to be a bus stop for elementary school students?"

The short answer: there's no bylaw in Shrewsbury that imposes penalties on residents who don't shovel their walkways: regardless of whether said sidewalks are near a school.

According to Town Manager Dan Morgado, there has never been a bylaw of this type in town.

Other nearby towns, including Westborough, used to have bylaws regarding shoveling, but eliminated them years ago.

According to John Walden, manager of the Department of Public Works in Westborough, the town stopped requiring resident to clear their walks because of the burden on the elderly.

Still, many people choose to shovel their sidewalks as a courtesy to dog walkers, people who exercise outdoors and yes, children waiting for their school busses.

Some clearing beyond your driveway will be required for mail delivery as well. Letter carriers with the United States Postal Service might not deliver you your mailbox if they can't reach it.

Delivery service may be delayed or curtailed whenever streets or walkways present hazardous conditions for letter carriers or when snow is plowed against mailboxes," the USPS says on its website.