The large snow accumulation earlier this month highlighted shortcomings in Maine’s snow removal traditions and cities’ efforts to become more walkable.
After mid-February storms dumped two feet of snow in the region, Bangor’s public works director warned in a memo that his crews might not be able to clear all the city’s sidewalks. The city manager later clarified that all sidewalks would be cleared; it would just take time.
Similarly, Brewer announced that it would take two weeks to clear all of the city’s sidewalks of snow.
We fully recognize that policy should not be made based on one event, but here’s the basic question: Why is it a city’s responsibility to clear sidewalks of snow and ice?
In many states, it is the property owner’s responsibility to keep sidewalks clear. In Grand Junction, Colorado, for example, public sidewalks in front of a home or business must be cleared of snow and ice by the property owner within 24 hours of a storm. Fairbanks, Alaska, does not include a time element, but makes it clear that it is a property owner’s responsibility to clear sidewalks next to the property.
Bangor’s city code requires property owners in the core of downtown Bangor to clear the sidewalks adjacent to their properties within six hours after a snowstorm. The code is silent on sidewalk clearing in the rest of the city.
It is unreasonable to expect a community, such as Bangor, to be able to plow snow from hundreds of miles of streets and also be able to clear the city’s sidewalks in a short period of time, especially after a series of storms buried parts of Maine.
But it is imperative for a city that wants to be pedestrian friendly to have sidewalks that are accessible throughout the year.
There are 84 miles of sidewalks in Bangor. Of this total, only 1.6 miles are in downtown Bangor, where clearing sidewalks is the responsibility of property owners.
Outside the downtown, about 62 miles of sidewalks along roads that connect neighborhoods with businesses and schools are dubbed “priority 1” streets. These are sidewalks that city crews have long cleared and they were sidewalks that were the top priority for snow removal after storms dumped more than two feet of snow on Bangor.
Another 21 miles of sidewalks are designated “priority 2.” The city only began clearing these sidewalks a few years ago.
To clear the city’s many miles of sidewalks, Bangor spent on average $112,893 per year on sanding and plowing sidewalks between fiscal years 2008 and 2016, according to data provided to the BDN by Public Works Director Dana Wardwell. The city owns five snow-clearing tractors that cost about $130,000 each. Those tractors typically last about six years, forcing the city to buy a new one most years, he said.
The tractors often break down when they hit trash cans, toys, or other items buried in the snow. And crews often need to plow or sand the same section of a sidewalk multiple times during a snowstorm.
“People don’t realize how difficult it is to keep sidewalks open,” Wardwell said. “It’s a thankless job. Without a doubt, it is the toughest job for public works, keeping the sidewalks open.”
During and after the recent blizzard, Bangor public works crews worked 32 hours straight clearing snow and ice from sidewalks and then worked 12-hour shifts last week, Wardwell said. City crews also had to clear 400 lane-miles of road.
City officials can consider buying more equipment and hiring more people to clear sidewalks more quickly, or they can clarify that sidewalk snow removal, especially in areas with little foot traffic, is the responsibility of property owners. The latter makes much more sense.
