Snow Shoveling

It's that time of year. The first big snowfall (not all that big) has hit Woodstock, and the sidewalks are covered with snow - with unshoveled snow in front of most houses. This morning's rain took care of most of it - this time.

Why is it that residents, whether property owners or tenants, do not shovel the snow from their sidewalks?

In the past property owners may have feared lawsuits from someone who falls on their sidewalk, if they made any attempt at all to clear it. What if an owner shovels his sidewalk and then it freezes and gets slick? If a person falls, is the owner liable? Is he better off to leave the snow on the sidewalk, as a warning to anyone walking by?

The Woodstock City Attorney has opined that a person who clears his sidewalk is not liable, should someone fall. You can read the City's statement about this on www.woodstockil.gov Click on "City Departments"; then click on "Public Works"; then on "Snow Removal".

From the City's website: "However, our City Attorney tells us that an Illinois State Statute now exempts residents from liability from being sued for attempting to remove snow and ice from their sidewalk even if performed negligently. Now there is no reason not to shovel your sidewalk."

There are plenty of reasons. 1. I don't care. 2. I'm too lazy. 3. Let my neighbor do it for me. 4. My kid's at college. 5. My husband is a couch potato. 6. My snow shovel is buried in the garage. 7. My wife won't shovel the snow while I'm watching the Bears game.

Of course, they don't mention the State Statute on the City website. How convenient it would be if the statute were quoted. I wonder how long it would take to find it.

By the way, you may want to remember that parking is prohibited on City streets after 3" of snowfall, even during the day. Give the snowplows a chance to clear the streets! Do the cops ticket the car left on the street? And no over-night street parking in the winter. According to the City's website, permission will not be granted during the winter. OK, what's "winter"?

Let's hope that the City this year will get after commercial property owners, including apartment houses, who have their driveways plowed and who pile up huge mounds of snow across sidewalks. This forces pedestrians, including children on the way to school, into the street.