Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Ready For Winter Weather?


"Mount St. Salt," at Marine and Montrose, is ready for action. As winter storms approach this evening, Ald. Smith's newsletter reminds us about heat and shoveling requirements:

Heat and Snow Removal Ordinances. The Chicago Heat Ordinance requires the following minimum temperatures in all rental units from September 15 until June 1: 68 degrees between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. and 66 degrees between 10:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. If you live in a rental building and your landlord does not maintain these temperatures, call 311 for assistance.

Also, there is a City ordinance that requires building owners or tenants to remove the snow and ice from sidewalks in front of their buildings or vacant lots. The ordinance states that if the sidewalk is wider than five feet, only a five foot path is necessary. Snow that accumulates before 4:00 p.m. must be removed within three hours after the snow has fallen. Snow that accumulates after 4:00 p.m. or during the night shall be removed before 10:00 a.m. Non-compliance can result in ticketing and fines. Violations can be reported to 311.

12 comments:

  1. would be a nice way for the city to make some money...start fining these people who don't shovel!

    as someone who mostly gets around on foot, its amazing how many people don't shovel.

    not surprisingly, the more expensive the house, the less likely the walk has been shoveled.

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  2. Hi Neighbors, please help each other out this year with the snow. Last year was a doozy and since the plows only come through the side streets when we're lucky, please help when shoveling your cars out and clearing them off by putting snow onto the grass next to your cars, not into the streets!

    Also share your shovels!! I keep one in my trunk, and our apt keeps one in our lobby so please make sure you share and help others dig out so we can all survive this winter!

    p.s. spot saving is for jerks.

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  3. not surprisingly, the more expensive the house, the less likely the walk has been shoveled.

    This is certainly not the case, or at least, its not the case in Uptown. The rich and the poor are equal opportunity offenders in this regard.

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  4. I don't know how I feel about the fine.
    While I agree that there are some people who don't shovel simply because they are inconsiderate (and I'd love to see them pay), how do you distinguish between them, and those of us who work full-time and can't get home in time to shovel within the 3-hour limit? I would be damn pissed if I came home from work, ready to shovel the walk, only to find that I had a ticket!
    I count myself lucky, though, because I have a nice neighbor with a blower who kindly takes care of my walk free of charge.

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  5. I am all for the City to fine people for not shoveling.

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  6. Lisa,

    Are you my neighbor?

    But really, who is the dumbass jerk who drafted this ordinance? So let me get this straight.

    I am at work. It snows at 10am. I get home at 5 PM. I come home to a ticket????????????????????????????????????????????

    I do plow as much as I can with my snow-blower. (Only because it is kinda fun..and I actually like helping others...not because I want credit)

    I would love to go to my boss (I am a city employee) and say...."Hey, I have to run home and shovel snow...otherwise I am going to get a ticket." Then, if I am allowed to go, the Sun-Times will run an article about how I went home to shovel snow.... this is corruption!

    Damned if you do, damned if you don't!

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  7. I am sure the city is all for fining people. That's the answer to everything. Or maybe we could figure out a way to tax people based on the amount of snow fall accumulated around their building. I know there is a way for the city to get money out of this some how.

    How about this, take some good old fashion responsibility for your building and shovel the snow. Now that's something a lot of people in this neighborhood lack.

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  8. *I am sure the city is all for fining people. That's the answer to everything. Or maybe we could figure out a way to tax people based on the amount of snow fall accumulated around their building. I know there is a way for the city to get money out of this some how.*

    You can't even give these people that much credit for thinking this out even on a revenue basis. This is just a dumb ordinance.

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  9. The 46th Ward site suggests we 'nominate a business for successful snow removal.....'

    I don't frequent the 46th Ward site much, but the bulk of the offerings seem to be the calorie equivalent to Marshmallow Fluff.

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  10. hi again, i hope the city doesn't waste their time fining people for not shoveling their sidewalks, though annoying it usually gets done where i live(thank you neighbors) and i notice people are pretty cool about shoveling at least one path through someone else's uncleared walk. and if you're not you should be helping others. Karma is a b*%$# - directed towards the jerks who honked and yelled obscenities on CHRISTMAS last year when we were taking up a few feet of the road trying to dig out our car last year....

    I drive AND walk around so PLEASE PLEASE other drivers, if you find yourself parking in a completely shoveled out spot near beacon and leland this winter, return the favor and shovel out your spot if you can.

    imagine a world without rock hard snow/ice encasing your car into your parking spot for eternity!!! well at least until it gets warm enough for me to chisel with an ice pick to get out. *if we shovel BEFORE it freezes we'll all be in a much happier place. NEIGHBORS! :)

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  11. What really bothers me is not so much the snow per se but that frozen stuff that cakes on the sidewalks after a partial thaw - MUCH more dangerous than just plain snow! If the property owner can't be bothered to shovel in a timely manner, could he/she/they please at least consider throwing some ice or sand on the walkway?

    On a related note...how is the "dibs" situation going on Uptown side streets now that we've had some "major" snow? I already saw a couple of neighbors claim their "spots" with old furniture.

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  12. Hey - if the city can fine people for not shoveling the walks, can we stop paying taxes if the city doesn't plow side streets within a certain amount of time?

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