Not shoveling the sidewalk in front of your home in Lakewood, can result in a hefty fine. According to the Township’s ordinance, every owner or occupant of any house or building must remove snow or ice from sidewalks in front of or adjacent to such buildings or lot within 12 hours after the snow ceases to fall or ice is formed. The hours of 11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. are excluded in computing the 12 hours.
According the ordinance, if snow or ice is of such a thin coat or is so adhered to the sidewalk that it cannot be reasonably removed with shovels or standard snow removal equipment, it must be covered with sand or salt or any other type of material suitable to prevent slipping.
If it is not removed, the Public Works Department will remove it at the owners expense, which is in addition to any other violation fees incurred.
Violations carry a mandatory court appearance and fines ranging from $50-$1,000. TLS.
And how much does the PWD pay if the roads are not clear within 12 hours of snow (excluding the hours of 11pm-7am)?
About time this was posted. Everyone in Lakewood prides themselves as being big Balei Chesed. What can be a bigger chesed then shoveling your sidewalk so people can actually walk. It is not a chesed it is mentchlichkeit. Also we are so concerned about where the children will stand waiting for the bus when it snows. Shovel and they will have where to stand. I hope that the mayor and committeemen will enforce this.
I agree with this statute. Why is Lakewood unlike any other frum community in that the residents don’t feel the need to shovel their sidewalks? Where’s the common decency? It is so dangerous for the people (including children) walking (on the ice or in the sreets because the sidewalk is unpassable)!
Hello!,
It is time to just grow up!
I am mechuyuv to shovel my walk when the snow plow dumps 6 feet of snow on top of it ? Something is wrong here.
Alte Lakewooder,
Every other community has snow plows that dump snow on their front walks and they STILL have the decency to shovel their walks! I cannot believe that I actually have to be arguing this point to a yid who should not have to be lectured about decency.
I can’t understand , how any homeowner could be mazik the rabim without any care whatsoever, about the hazard they are causing others. I find it unbearable to see people struggeling and stumbling on uncleaned sidewalks. Usually if you pass this person’s house in the summer, you will see very well kept lawns and landscaping. It is about time these people concidered others. I know they must be very busy being misasek in the tzorchei tzibbur, but chesed starts at home.
The biggest surprise and disappointment I had upon moving to Lakewood (as a Bocher in BMG)was seeing how not every one shovels their snow.Today twenty years later it retains that status.
the question arises on narrow streets that the plows ened up throwing snow on the sidewalks and also when the plows pile up/push to the corners creating snow mountains blocking crooswalks and sidewalks.
its then impossibile to clear the compacted skyhigh snow.
in other cities the DPW knows not to block corners. for traffic and pedestrian safety.
The pshat is that everybody in festa Lakewood walks in the street, they hardly use the sidewalk.
So it’s everybody lisheetosom. Complain about the plowing, because they have nowhere in the street to walk. And why shovel my sidewalk, we all walk in the street anyway!
This rule is insane for persons that own more then 1 house in lkwd they have to start goin round clearing all the snow and what HELLO! Said is a gr8 point but I must agree this time dpw did a gr8 job I give em a lot of credit THANK YOU VERT MUCH DPW
BY LAW – WHO IS RESPONSIBILE TO PAY FOR SNOW CLEANUP
OWNER OR OCCUPANT?
USUALY OWNER!!!!! so if your sidewalks are not cleaned by your development as per association rules, get the owner to get you a snow blower an dknock of some of your rent off for doing the work or let the owner get a worker and pay to clean your sidewalks and steps.
who is responsible for it the renter or the owner of the house
# 11 If you own property , you are responsible. Do you live in both houses? Either require that your tennant shovel ,or arrange for somebody else to do it. Do you take responsibilty for the repairs and maintenace of your property? Than why should shoveling be different?
this TLS post makes it seem that this is a rule made for lakewood because Lakewood has a problem. most townships and cities in the region have some ordinance about snow shoveling catering to the needs on that township and it would have been nice for TLS to post the exact ordinance and also maybe the ones in surronding townships.
Being that fines go up to $1000 ,just going around i see an easy million the town could have collected. they dont have to waste the time of our “talented” police dept stoping unregistered vehicles and broken lights at $50 , when they could have just had a dpw offical giving out summons at 1000 bucks a pop. i never saw anyone going around writing summons here. ( although i have seen it in some
therefore it is obvious that these rules were made for 2 reasons
a. if you have a neighbor who is continuosly selfish and doesnt give a hoot about others and never shovels , call the dpw / police and the will gladly issue a summons. but dont abuse it .
b. the ordinance establishes criteria for negiligence lawsuits in case of injury.
as far as lakewood it doesnt seem that more people doent shovel , but i wouls only say its slighly more. its an accumilition of many things. people who are to chushuv to shovel, people who expect others to do for them, landlords not writing clear contracts about who has to shovel, landlords with too many houses, and a large contingent of this community doesnt go to court so lawsuits are not a big threat.
my opinion is : be a metsch a shovel, and if your neighbor is not a mentsch if you feel that the situation will cause someone to get hurt you should definitaly get a summons issued. if not just be a mentcsh and be mevater and im sure down the line he will get what he deserve from someone else.
renting a private house obligates you to take care of general issues besides repair both inside and outside. the same way the owner does not have to sweep the inside floor he does not have to sweep the outside.unless it is otherwise specified
the only time an owner has to take care of outside ground is if it is not a single house them it becomes some sort of common ground. in which case it is not like the floor inside the house.
however in many places the fines may be given to the owners.
lol
dpw hasb plenty of there own work before they have time to come to my house and I AM NOT SHOVELING so come im waiting
i have quite a small house but the property is very wide and to shovel the sidewalks in front of the house in addition to the steps, driveway and walkway is a tremendous job and is extremely difficult for one person to do.
They plowed a huge 6 foot file by my house from last snow storm & it still didn’t melt, it is a solid compact piece of ice. There is no way in the world that I can shovel it!!!!
stats on the number tickets would get ppl to clean up their sidewalks
Mrs. #19 , The house I bought is very big (5000sf) and it is impossible for me to clean itall by myself. Am I responsible to clean it or maybe the DPW can send someone to clean my house (and also do my laundry???)
this morning my neighbor and his renter both shoveled the sidewalk and the drive way. it was nice to see
great way to get employment up
please where are the day laborers come back and do my side walk
Could you get the township to clean its sidewalks? Squankum between E. 10th and Farm Fresh never cleaned. The lot is Township owned.
stop being so lazy!!!!! The time it took you too write such dumb things you could go outside and shovel!
Nobody is this town uses sidewalks when they are not snow covered. So whats the big deal?
We have shoveled and the trucks have put large piles up on the sidewalks agian. No possible way to remove it agian.Sorry
when one rents a duplex with legal basements its the owner responsibility. because each unit is a legal 2 family.
i would love if twnsp would ticket me i would then turn around and get some people to sign up for a class action lawsuit (70 ppl or more) cause they didnt plow streets within reasonable amount of time by last storm which cost me loss of buissness etc….
Let the township get their act together first as it relates go getting rid of all the ice thats compromising everyone’s ability to get around, and then they can get busy with everyones sidewalk. What a bunch of hypocrisy!
From out of town says:
January 13, 2011 at 5:53 pm
stop being so lazy!!!!! The time it took you too write such dumb things you could go outside and shovel!
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simple solution . connect a garden hose to a hot water line and hose it down till it starts to melt. just remember to salt that area because the hot water will eventually turn to ice otherwise. i tried it and it works everytime.
To 22, I have like #19 big lot, tiny house. If you have a big house, you are NOT required to clean it unless you want to live in a clean house. Homeowners with big lots usually do what they can and what they need to get by. I guess in the ideal situation we should be doing enough for others to get by as well…
My parents are snowbirds and have a summer home here (last house on a cul de sac). I was under impression that the NJ personal injury law states that as long as one does not clear the snow they are not responsible, by clearing the snow, they are stating that the sidewalk is in walkable condition and are the owner is responsible for any injuries one may acquire(?) on the property. Township ordinance (please post it in it’s entirety), would actually force owner to do something which as a direct result can cause them to be sued. In most Northern Cities (especially Canada) the local government clears the sidewalks with little snowplows, sidewalks are public property.
I too always wondered why noone in Lakewood shovels their walks. I always assumed it’s because properties are so much larger than in NY and thus,harder to shovel…
One thing; I’m not really sure why people make it sound like our Non-Jewish neighbors all shovel and only frum people don’t. I lived in an area that was predominantly non-Jewish and NOONE shoveled. The people that walked their dogs did so in the street ALL YEAR so they weren’t affected.
That said I think it is only right to clear your walkway so people can safely pass.
Well I would not mind if they (finally) started with Madison avenue, its awful and so dangerous.
dont make any more sidwwalks , you are always crying you need side walks and you say you dont use them, which is true, than you dont have to clean them
Let me get this straight. If you are off to Yarchay Kallah or a simcha out of town, you are supposed to make arrangements that in case it snows your sidewalk should cleared of snow? I can understand such a law being applied to a business establishment where the public requires reasonable access, but applying such a law to every homeowner seems to be somewhat of a stretch.
What if the homeowner is an elderly widow? How could she get her sidewalk cleared within 12 hours? Maybe she should just keel over and make room for young people. The elderly have had their life. When they are frail and helpless, they have no business owning a home in Lakewood, a young people’s town. As Helen Thomas suggested, let them go back to wherever they came from.
For those who cannot discern irony, I am of course being sarcastic.;
SAKANAH!!!! END OF STORY!!!!!! ITS SICKENING TO SEE WHATS GOING ON AT EVERY OTHER HOUSE HERE IN LAKEWOOD. WHY ARENT THE SIDEWALKS IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE CLEAR? PLAYGROUPS BABYSITTERS ESPECIALLY!!!!! IT IS A COMPLETE DANGER AND FOR THAT ALONE IT SHOULD BE DONE IMMEDIATLY!!!!
Once we see public servants and township officials showel Rt 9 and other public sidewalks or pay fines from their own pocket we all get inspired to clean our sidewalks!
Will the township be ticketed for not cleaning their sidewalks? For example in from of their empty lot on 5th st. Next to flafel and chips was NOT PLOWED!
Last week a tractor came over to clear the mailboxes for the mailman to deliver the mail. He just picked up all the snow and dumped it on my sidewalk. Who has to shovel that now? Humm??
why should we shovel our sidewalks when the towns people walk right in the middle of the road 5 people wide and dont use sidewalks when they are clear as can be…..
If this is the case…. Then can anyone explain why major streets havent had their sidewalks shoveled out- such as 14th and forest ave?
Please explain- if so many areas in Lakewood do not have sidewalks to begin with, obviously our town doesn’t feel a sidewalk is a must. So, when there’s snow on the ground, simply view the area as a non-sidewalk street!!
Having SOME houses on a block shoveled while others are not – is ridiculous. It has to be an all or nothing effort. And, as an aside, the posters who’ve written that sidewalks aren’t used even when they’re clear and dry (think June) — are 110% correct in their observations.
the dpw has a hard enough time handling the streets, where do they think they are gonna have extra time to send some workers off to handle peoples sidewalks??
Shoveling your sidewalk is a safety issue for everyone. People don’t want school closings or delayed openings but they won’t shovel their sidewalks so that our children are safe when walking or waiting for their bus. Many children are forced to walk on icy streets and either stand in the street or climb a mountain of snow to get on the bus. Are people that lazy or just ignorant. To the people who own more than one house, if you can afford to own these houses and aren’t able to shovel the sidewalks personally, then I am sure that you can afford to pay someone to shove the sidewalks. Who are you kidding!