As Cincinnati residents shovel their driveways and dig their cars out of the several inches of snow that blanketed the region during Winter Storm Blair, some may be wondering who’s responsible for clearing the sidewalks near their homes.
Technically, it’s up to homeowners and tenants, but the city has seemingly yet to step up enforcement efforts to ensure sidewalks are safe for pedestrians.
Here’s what Cincinnati’s Code of Ordinances says about residents’ obligations to remove snow and ice from sidewalks after winter weather events.
City ordinance places responsibility on owners, tenants. Enforcement lacking
State law allows municipalities to create ordinances requiring property owners and tenants of adjoining properties to keep sidewalks, curbs, and gutters free of snow and ice.
According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, property owners in most municipalities are responsible for sidewalk snow removal, although some local governments take on snow clearing duties under high snowfall or in prioritized areas.
A city ordinance that went into effect in 1972 mandates property owners and tenants to remove snow from sidewalks within the first daylight hours after snow stops falling. The snow cannot be moved from sidewalks into gutters.
Pedestrians avoid ice as they walk on the sidewalk on Tuesday in downtown Cincinnati.
Another ordinance that became effective the same year also requires owners and tenants to make icy sidewalks safe for pedestrians by either removing the ice or covering the sidewalk with a substance such as sand.
Failure to comply with either decree is punishable by a fine of no more than $25. However, it doesn’t appear the city is issuing citations for violations, despite officials saying in 2015 that they planned to beef up enforcement.
Cincinnati spokesperson Mollie Lair said the city does not have records of citations being issued for violations of the ordinances. A search of Hamilton County court records also did not show any citations issued.
It’s unclear whether that means the city has not issued any citations or that officials do not maintain records about those citations.
Other cities with similar laws on the books have been more diligent in imposing penalties on those who don’t clear the sidewalks of snow and ice. By mid-January last year, Boston had issued more than $55,000 in fines for such violations.
Who is liable if someone falls on icy, snowy sidewalks?
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a 1993 opinion that homeowners aren’t obligated to remove snow and ice on sidewalks that accumulated naturally, nor are they liable if someone is injured walking on those sidewalks.
Mike Willis, 47, shovels snow to clear a path for his car on Tuesday in downtown Cincinnati.
“Living in Ohio during the winter has its inherent dangers. Recognizing this, we have previously rejected the notion that a landowner owes a duty to the general public to remove natural accumulations of ice and snow from public sidewalks which abut the landowner’s premises, even where a city ordinance requires the landowner to keep the sidewalks free of ice and snow,” the court wrote.
However, Ohio case law also has found property owners who create an “unnatural” or dangerous situation on the sidewalk — such as partially or insufficiently removing snow and ice or allowing diverted water from a downspout drain on the property to empty onto the sidewalk and freeze — may face liability.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who’s responsible for icy sidewalks in Cincinnati? What to know