Robbinsdale Leaders Remind Residents to Help Keep Walks Clear Once Snow Arrives

Signs of winter aren’t so noticeable in Robbinsdale in early December.

But the snowy winter will come, and so will the responsibility of keeping sidewalks clear of it.

Robbinsdale city leaders remind residents to help keep sidewalks clear this winter.

 “We want people to comply because there’s a lot of people that depend on those sidewalks,” says Rick Pearson, City of Robbinsdale Community Development Coordinator.

Pearson reminds people to shovel sidewalks in front of their houses and sidewalks adjacent to the land they own in a timely manner.

“The ordinance says they have to be cleared within 12 hours of the snow event,” says Pearson. 

Keeping sidewalks safe for people, may also mean putting down salt.

Too much salt, leads to too many dangers 

Pearson recommends doing so sparingly.  

“You can see a trail of salt going across the parking lot where the truck dumped a bunch of salt,” says Pearson. “We issued a warning for illicit discharge.”

Pearson says not only can excess salt kill grass and damage pavement, it can also ruin drinking water.

“Excess salt gets captured by the rainwater system and eventually ends up in our lakes, so it becomes a water containment,” says Pearson. 

If homeowners don’t clear off their sidewalks, the city will hire a contractor to shovel the sidewalk.

Homeowners will be saddled with the bill.

“We don’t have people that are looking for sidewalks that haven’t been shoveled,” says Pearson. “But when we get complaints, we verify that the sidewalk hasn’t been shoveled, and we warn the property owner because we want people to comply and be good neighbors.”

Thankfully, Pearson says the majority of people in Robbinsdale are good neighbors .

They do their part all winter long, keeping the sidewalks safe. 

“Mostly we want our residents to feel safe and enjoy living in Robbinsdale,” says Pearson. 

Don’t forget to shovel around fire hydrants

Pearson says theres’s no ordinance requirement to clear snow from around fire hydrants in Robbinsdale.

However, he says it’s a good neighborly thing to do and can help firefighters.

Pearson recommends a 3 feet clearance around the fire hydrant.

That way, firefighters have enough space to hook up their hose to the hydrant.

Robbinsdale | Twin Cities

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