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Clearing sidewalk snow and ice is the neighborly thing to do...

We all have a shared responsibility for keeping our community safe and accessible during winter weather. For you, your neighbors, people with strollers or using wheelchairs, and the many people in Cambridge who walk, please do your part.

... and it’s the law.

Cambridge Ordinance requires that all property owners:

• Remove snow from all sidewalks next to their property or business within 12 hours after snow stops falling in the daytime, and before 1 p.m. when the snow has fallen during the night.
  • Make the path wide enough for someone using wheelchair, walker or stroller (at least 3 feet, preferably 4 feet).
  • If you are on a corner, don’t forget to shovel the side-street sidewalk and to clear ramps at crosswalks.
• Remove or melt all ice within 6 hours of the time the ice forms.
  • Stock up on ice melter before a storm.
    • Use ice melter with calcium chloride (CaCl2), which is the best choice for the environment and only a small amount is required to melt ice. Potassium chloride (KCl) is okay, too.
    • Avoid rock salt (NaCl or sodium chloride), which kills plants and trees.
    • Do not use sand. It doesn’t help pedestrians; but it makes hard ice more slippery. It gets into street drains and is expensive to clean up in the spring.
• Remember that, for people on foot, ice can be worse then snow. It can cause dangerous falls. You are as responsible for ice as you are for snow.
• The fine for failing to comply with the City’s sidewalk clearance ordinances is $50 a day each day that you don't comply. Even if you aren’t around, it is your responsibility to ensure someone clears sidewalks and ramps next to your property.
• You can report the address of unshoveled or icy sidewalks using our online reporting form or by calling the snow hotline at (617) 349-4903.

If you do not qualify, the Council on Aging can provide you with a limited list of professional snow removal companies and a list of students who want to earn money by shoveling – you contact the student yourself and negotiate a price.

• Check the Traffic and Parking Department's website for information about snow emergency parking restrictions and alternative off-street parking (http://www.cambridgema.gov/Traffic/Snow.cfm)
• Even if no snow emergency has been declared, remember these general on-street parking guidelines:
  • Always park at least 20 feet from the street corner so plows can push snow away from crosswalk. Parking away from the corner improves visibility and safety year-round
  • It is illegal to “reserve” cleared parking spaces; objects left in on-street parking spaces will be removed.
  • Think safety: dig out fire hydrants and street drains while digging out your car.
  • When digging out your car, think about how you pile snow: don’t create new problems in the street or sidewalk.
  • Please don’t take it personally if the DPW plows push snow back into your driveway or parked car. This is really unavoidable as we work to keep streets passable during all stages of a storm.

For information about school closings
Please call the 24-hr recorded school link line at (617) 349-6513, check the City's homepage, or watch Municipal Channel 8.

DPW will work to keep streets passable
The DPW will clear the streets as soon as possible. Our goals are to chemically treat all major arteries within three hours of when snow begins, to keep main arteries plowed during all stages of a storm, and to clear all streets and the sidewalks bordering City property once a storm has stopped.

During a storm the DPW will deploy as many as 100 pieces of snow plowing equipment to begin clearing snow. Initially these plows are simply clearing a section of each roadway to allow for safe passage. As the storm begins to wind down, these same vehicles will continue intheir assigned routes, pushing snow as far back to the curb line or line of parked cars on all of the City streets. From the start of the storm and usually well into the next day, we will push back snow many times on the same streets to clear snow to the maximum extent possible.

To make a street plowing/salting request, please call the Operations Center at (617) 349-4800 or (617) 349-4846 to report the location.