Abington Snow Shoveling: Who Is Responsible, When Does It Need To Happen?

ABINGTON, PA — As the winter months close their icy grip on the Philadelphia region, many residents will find themselves facing one of the winter's most-dreaded - or most-loved - chores: shoveling snow.

Here are a few points to keep in mind as you grab those shovels. According to the township code:

• It shall be the duty of the owner, or if the owner is not in residence, the occupant, lessee, tenant or person having charge of any building, building lot, piece of ground or parcel of real estate in the Township of Abington abutting upon any public place, to remove or cause to be removed all snow and ice from the sidewalk pavement or established footpaths in front of or adjacent to such premises to a width of not less than three feet within 24 hours after such snow or ice shall have fallen or accumulated thereon.
• Snow or ice removed from sidewalk areas shall be placed on the person's property.
• If there shall be an excessive amount of snow or ice and there is no longer any place on the person's property to shovel the snow, then it may be placed along the curbline but not in the street.
• It shall be unlawful for any person to throw or put or cause to be thrown or put any snow or ice into any public place in the township while clearing driveway approaches, unless the same shall be broken up and spread evenly over the surface of such public place.
• At corner properties, snow shall be cleared to enable pedestrians to cross the intersection.
• Should the snow and ice on the sidewalk pavement or footpath be frozen so hard that it cannot be removed without injury to the pavement or damaging the base of the footpath, the person having charge of the snow and ice removal may, within the time specified in § 137-2, cause the sidewalk abutting or adjacent to such premises to be strewn and to be kept strewn with ashes, sand, sawdust or some similar suitable material, and shall, as soon thereafter as the weather shall permit, thoroughly clean such sidewalks.
• Fire hydrants shall not be covered.
• Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter or who shall fail to comply with the conditions or requirements in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to pay a fine of $20. For each subsequent offense committed within the same calendar year, the amount of the fine shall increase by $20 per offense. The amount of the fines set forth herein may be reset from time to time by resolution of the Board of Commissioners. A new and separate offense shall be deemed to have been committed for each day that said violation exists. All fines imposed by this chapter are recoverable by summary proceedings before any District Justice in the Township of Abington, and, upon recovery thereof, all such fines shall be paid into the treasury of the township. In default of the payment of any fine imposed by any District Justice under the provisions of this chapter, the person so offending may be committed to the jail for a period of one day.

Link to the full township code for snow and ice removal here.

Photo: Flickr Commons