Snow Shoveling Law Gets Globe Front-Page Treatment

The new ticket writing machines that code enforcement police now carry around is the angle for Globe writer Andrew Ryan's story on snow shoveling. The article does a good job of clarifying the law, most importantly the requirement that a 42 inch clear path be clear.

The code enforcement police now take a photograph of the violation into a handheld computer and print out the ticket on the spot. there are a tremendous number of comments along with the article, many of them misinformed. The city owns almost all the sidewalks in the city, but has an ordinance requiring property owners to clear the sidewalks. And that means all the way to the corner and any curb cuts.

All property owners are also now required to clear a 42-inch path through the ice and snow on all sidewalks, making a space wide enough for a wheelchair or a baby stroller. The old ordinance required a good faith effort to remove the snow. "Which means you could have just thrown down some sand and not even bothered to shovel," Mackan said.

The city has the authority to collect fines on traffic or speeding tickets, but little real power to collect the shoveling fines. That is why Beacon Hill lawmakers are also close to giving cities and towns the authority to add unpaid fines to property tax bills and, for the worst offenders, to file liens. The bill was championed by Representative Martha M. Walz, a Democrat from the Back Bay, and is on the governor's desk waiting to be signed into law.

Let's hope Gov. Patrick signs this law!