Who's Not Shoveling Sidewalks In Worcester? Data Shows Penalized Properties

WORCESTER, MA — In Worcester, it's your responsibility to clear snow from sidewalks — whether that's by actually doing the shoveling, or by calling 311 to complain about someone who hasn't.

City law requires every "owner or occupant of land" that abuts a sidewalk to clear a minimum 4-foot path of snow and ice no longer than 10 hours after precipitation ends. But as anyone who's tried using sidewalks in Worcester after snow can attest, most remain unpassable long after storms end, sometimes until Mother Nature intervenes with warmer temperatures. Residents who don't drive watch as cars zip along salted, sanded and plowed streets while they trudge along snowy, icy sidewalks.

Over the past five winters, Worcester has handed out a little over 600 fines to property owners for the shoveling offense in a city with 637 miles of sidewalks, according to data provided by the city. That's a fraction of the more than 45,000 parcels in the city, of which about 89 percent are residential properties, although not every property abuts a sidewalk.

Over 200 of the fines since 2020 were repeat offenders who were fined two or more times. Almost all the top repeat offenders with four or more violations are limited liability corporations whose owners live outside Worcester, and sometimes out of state.

The Aldi shopping plaza holds the record for the most fines over the past five years — 2020 to 2024 — at eight. The property is an asset of a trust named for a man who died in 1990. The city's law, however, says that occupants of land can also be responsible for shoveling, not just the property owner.

Other top offenders include the owner of the CVS and Wholly Cannoli plaza along Grafton Street, the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center and the Walgreens at 937 West Boylston St., according to records provided by the city.

The number of shoveling fines has varied widely over the past five years, and not always in line with the amount of snow that fell during a given winter. Here's a look at the number of fines given out each year (January to December) alongside snow totals logged each year by the National Weather Service:

• 2020: 123 fines, 46.4 inches, 2.65 tickets per inch
• 2021: 175 fines, 51.5 inches, 3.39 tickets per inch
• 2022: 195 fines, 55.1 inches, 3.53 tickets per inch
• 2023: 4 fines, 44.9 inches, 0.089 tickets per inch
• 2024: 93 fines, 34 inches, 2.73 tickets per inch*

*Data only through Feb. 12, 2024

You may have noticed the very low number of fines in 2023. That's not a typo: a city spokesperson said that may have been due to how mild the winter was, although it was snowier than 2024. Of the four fines handed out that year, half went to a single property owner: Flipping For Fire LLC, which has an address in Hopkinton, but whose sole manager has a North Carolina address. The LLC purchased a home at 83 Ingleside Ave. in 2022, but also took possession of a triple-decker at the corner of Belmont and Elizabeth streets in April 2023, according to property records.

Data on fines provided by the city did not include the addresses where the violations actually occurred, so it's often hard to know which sidewalks are most neglected if an owner has multiple properties.

The low number of fines in 2023 may also be due to the system being totally complaint-driven. Neither Worcester police nor the Department of Public Works proactively hand out fines. The city takes complaints from citizens — now through the relatively new 311 phone line — and then police go out to verify if there's a violation, according to a spokesperson for City Manager Eric Batista.

The amount of fines can also vary widely from snowstorm to snowstorm. According to the National Weather Service, 32 inches fell in February 2021, about 10 inches above average. Police issued 159 fines that month, about 27 percent of all snow shoveling tickets given out over the last five years. That's also about 90 percent of all fines given out in 2021.

Each offense results in a $75 fine. The grand total of fines over the past five years is just over $56,000, although records show the city has only received about $39,000 of that. Those figures may not be completely accurate, according to city officials, because unpaid tickets eventually become a tax lien, which property owners pay through property tax bills.

The sporadic sidewalk shoveling during winter in Worcester makes the city treacherous for people who walk, take the bus or have mobility issues. In winter 2022, resident Christina Parissi told Spectrum1 she has relied on nearby pedestrians to clear snow out of the way of her wheelchair.

There's likely a significant number of people in Worcester who don't have access to personal vehicles, and either walk or use public transportation to get around. There are 109,712 passenger vehicles registered in the city against a population of about 205,000, according to RMV data.

In 2020, the group Pedestrians For Worcester found that the number of shoveling complaints far outpaced the number of cases closed by police. Officers can choose to fine property owners or issue a warning. In some cases, the city will shovel a sidewalk and then bill the property owner for the work.

Most cities and towns in Massachusetts have similar snow clearing laws to Worcester, with mixed results. For example, Marlborough has only handed out one fine for sidewalk shoveling over the last five years, according to data from that city.

Worcester could get an inch or more by the end of Thursday thanks to an April nor'easter. That means you might have one more chance this winter to either do the right thing and shovel your sidewalk, or call 311 on someone who hasn't.