People in Elkhart are finding out that not clearing their sidewalk of snow is more than just a hassle for pedestrians – It's a decision that can come at a price.
The City of Elkhart started enforcing its snow-shoveling ordinance Friday and issued 400 tickets in one day. The ordinance requires that property owners shovel their sidewalks 24 hours after it snows two inches or more.
The mayor says even though that seems like a lot of tickets, there are a lot of owners that did follow the rule.
“That’s not an outstanding number,” said Mayor Dick Moore. “We have 15,000 residential units in the city of Elkhart, so that's not something that stresses me a great deal. That's certainly something we'd like to go down, and it will go down.”
Moore said that the ordinance isn't a way to collect money -- but a way to remind people to keep their sidewalks clean.
People who can't shovel due to a health condition can file an exemption with Elkhart, and crews will take care of cleaning the walks.
