A Syracuse lawmaker is back with a third attempt to penalize people responsible for impassible sidewalks because of snow.
City councilor Bob Dougherty tried twice last year to impose fines for residents and businesses that didn’t shovel their sidewalks after a snowfall, but both were defeated.
Now, Dougherty wants to go after private plow drivers. "I haven’t been able to pass the stuff about clearing sidewalks, but at least this will address mainly the business owners that have the snow plowed up onto the sidewalk, boxing intersections," he said.
There was once a fine on city books for not clearing snow. Dougherty wants these new tickets to be worth $100. It would be enforced by the public works department.
The discussions within city hall on improving shoveling that his measures sparked didn’t yield any solutions yet, according to Dougherty.
"I think we got some things out on the table," he said. "I’m hoping, I’m sure we’ll continue to talk about that, I don’t think there’s anything going on specifically right now."
The legislation will be voted on in a few weeks.
