City Councilor Proposes New Use For Shoveling Fines

Two weeks and several balmy days separate the South End from its last winter storm and yet, in places, sidewalks remain icy and unshoveled.

Strong measures have been taken this winter by the Inspectional Services Department to combat lazy landlords and homeowners by issuing citations to property owners who fail to shovel their sidewalks. However, as City Councilor Bill Linehan pointed out on Wednesday, issuing fines doesn’t melt the snow.

“It could snow in December and it could still be there in February – and it is,” he said. “The longer it stays there, the more it becomes concrete.”

A solution, Linehan said, would be to collect fines and then use the money to hire people to clear pathways around the city. A proposal submitted by Linehan on Tuesday suggests a hearing on the subject, which was taken up briefly by the council on Wednesday.

“We could set up shoveling with local not-for-profits and monies could be charged to the property owner...so the streets get cleaned,” Linehan said.

The properties shoveled wouldn't necessarily be the same ones that generated the fines, he added. Money could be spent shoveling traffic islands or ramps of particular importance to pedestrians, the elderly or disabled.

The city’s adoption of the state's “Green Ticket Law,” which allows it to place a lien on the property taxes of those with unpaid municipal fines, means that a majority of the fines issued for unshoveled sidewalks will be paid, Linehan said, generating funding that could be used to improve accessibility for all residents.

“Boston is a walking city,” he said. “The enormous amount of resources that the city has applied [are] to keep our streets free of snow for public safety purposes and to keep commerce and economy and us moving around the city and the region.”

Councilor Michael Ross supported the proposal.

“This is a creative thought,” he said. “It truly is a resource that doesn’t exist. It could pay for itself.”

A hearing will be scheduled on the topic by the Council's Committee on City and Neighborhood Services.