Owners of private property in Montgomery County are required by law to remove snow from sidewalks within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall. The county, however, is not required to clear sidewalks along county roads.
On Tuesday, the county council is expected to vote on a bill that would require the county’s administration to come up with a sidewalk snow removal plan.
The bill does not require the county to immediately start clearing all of its sidewalks—about 600 miles of walkways—after the first snowfall this winter, but it would require that the county begin to educate property owners about their responsibilities as well as identify the sidewalks that the county should clear.
“The intent of the bill is to have us start planning to clear sidewalks in a reasonable manner,” Robert Drummer, a senior legislative attorney for the county, said during an Oct. 6 council committee discussion.
The primary question about the bill is how much it would cost the county to clear its sidewalks, according to testimony during the council committee worksession.. Keith Compton, the county’s division chief of highway services, said his department estimates it would cost about $450 per mile to clear sidewalks. Clearing all the county’s sidewalks is estimated to cost about $300,000 per snowfall, according to budget estimates done for the bill.
Councilmember Hans Riemer, the primary sponsor of the bill, said not every county sidewalk would need to be cleared, and not every snowfall will require sidewalk clearing, which would lower the cost. He said it will be up to county officials to determine which sidewalks to prioritize in the plan.
Other portions of the bill include creating a digital map that shows who is responsible for clearing which sidewalks and a communications plan to remind residents about their responsibility for clearing sidewalks of snow and ice on their property.