Deputy City Administrator Sam Taylor responding to criticism from Pmurg that a possible crackdown on sidewalk snow removal is "yet another silly and unnecessary intrusion of government into places it doesn't belong."

To be clear, PMurg this section of code, adopted in 1985, was put there by human beings - elected representatives of the people of this community, not some ephemeral entity trying to lord over people. The feedback I have received on this since the very first snow fall from community members has been overwhelmingly in support of this law and asking for it to be enforced. Thus the reason why we engaged in an educational effort through our website, social media, CDATV, and the press release that spurred this article.

We always, always, always begin with education and a request for people to ensure their sidewalks are clear. I actually don't believe we have even issued a violation yet. Folks we have had to contact have complied in almost all instances, from what I've heard.

But it also is the primary purpose of governments to ensure life safety and this is a major one. We want to help reduce the amount of people who are forced to walk in snowy streets and make sure first responders can get to people safely and in a timely manner when they call for assistance.

I would encourage you to contact your City Council members and share your concerns with this code. They always appreciate hearing from community members. I can't link their contact info right now as our website is down, but once it's up you can find it under the main menu>government tab>city council>council member information.

Question: Would you support a communitywide crackdown on the requirement for sidewalk snow removal?