Grand Rapids Finally Gives Residents a Break on Sidewalk Shoveling

I don’t know if you’re like me and you’ve been trying your best to dig yourself out of the snow globe that currently is West Michigan, but you’re not alone with being exhausted with shoveling.

And good news for all of us, it seems the City of Grand Rapids looked outside, took one long look at the sidewalks, and said, okay fine… we get it.

After what feels like weeks of nonstop snow and bitter cold, the city is giving residents a little breathing room when it comes to sidewalk clearing. While, it’s not a free pass it will give us some much needed grace.

Here’s what has changed (for now):

You still have to shovel. But if you can’t get all the way down to bare cement, or if you honestly can’t even tell where the cement is anymore (looking at my own sidewalk right now), the city says that’s okay as long as you’re making a good faith effort to clear a path for your neighbors.

The city announced it is temporarily adjusting how it enforces its sidewalk snow removal ordinance because of the heavy snowfall and extreme cold. The goal is still to keep sidewalks safe and accessible, especially for pedestrians, people using mobility devices, and emergency responders.

But, as long as a property owner shows a clear attempt to deal with the snow and ice by shoveling, scraping, or using salt or traction materials, and the sidewalk is reasonably passable, the city may close a complaint even if there is still some snow left behind

And for now, contractor snow removal will generally only be ordered when there is no sign that the property owner tried to address the sidewalk at all.

These changes are temporary and will be reviewed as weather conditions improve. But for now, it’s nice to see some common sense applied during a winter that has asked a lot of everyone. However if you see someone who isn’t making an effort, you can still report it to the city.