Sandman - well put.

Duh...and how long has it taken the illustrious council of clowns to come to this solution, which any reasonable person could have suggested long ago? Visits, letters, visits, arrangements...weeks--NEVER! That's what's been happening for years! This city worries more about uncut lawns (that no one but the owner walks on) than about dangerous, slippery, blocked sidewalks that people actually have to use!

I didn't want sidewalks but was forced by this city to put them in (back when they had a "plan"--remember?). It cost a lot of money and now I'm obligated to shovel them too. So be it, but I've got no time for the handful of lazy neighbors, businesses, vacant lots AND CITY GREENBELT SIDEWALKS that rarely if ever get shoveled in a timely manner, and a few not at all since the first storm in December!

Get a reasonable solution and stick with it, and reinforce that people need to make arrangements to get their walks cleared within a few days after a storm. What's the point of forcing sidewalks on residents if pedestrians can't walk on them because they are covered by snow and ice?

And those cars parked on the road during a snow emergency that don't get dug out for days (or weeks) and leave a hazardous pile of frozen snow when they finally do vacate...how about tackling that issue next?! It's plain to see that it's just about always occurring in the same areas/blocks (many times with the same cars) every time there's a storm. Fix it! Accomplish something!

rodrigo- like I said TWO days is reasonable. YES there are just plain old lazy people out there that WONT do it all. Responsible people make arrangements if they cannot physically do it themselves if temporary or not.

Facebooker -RIGHT ON!

rodrigo - been awhile since you got some? By the way, do you always insert an asterisk when you can't spell something?

So pretty much you want the city to say when ever you get out and get the snow removed is fine. - that's kind of what I'm getting from some of these posts. So do not go out and shovel and just let it get packed down and freeze so then some one can slip and fall and sue you. That seems like a much better plan that the city sending you a fine if you don't do it in 2 days.
This last snow fall we had where it snowed during the day - I shoveled when I got up, at lunch time and after 5. I work at home so its easy but its not always easy to take a break. There has not been a snow fall that has been on the ground for more than 3 hours after its done - its not that hard to do so. Its good exercise and it needs to get done so get off the computer and stop complaining and go it!

Like there aren't more important issues facing this City. LIKE JOBS!!!!!

Talk about a COMPREHENSIVE DEFICIENCY..."it cost money to have the city remove snow...". You sound like a friggin' caveman, dude! "Me PBRMan, it cost money, me club you if you lazy!" Sheesh! You should try out for a Geico commercial. "It so easy to remove snow, even me can do it! It cost money! Save 15 percent on car insurance, it cost money too!"

All of the people who are judging others by callin them lazy can f*** off. I SNOWBLOW MY PROPERTY, but then again I'm not disabled or a parent who works a fulltime job and goes to college while taking care of a family or otherwise unable to take care of the snow in a reasonable manner. Everybody's situation is different. There is really no way you can call another person lazy or anything like that. PBRman, what's your excuse for being an a**hole? Were your parents obese smokers who didn't pay enough attention to you? Or are you just lazy in the mind? Stick it up your ***! Obese smokers...wow, what a jerk! A perfect example of a person who thinks they know everything. And God knows Janesville is FULL of those... so at least your not alone. Or unique.

frogger, that apartment building may get fined if they do something out of the kindness of their heart. It's a no-win situation.

Blu, I'm sure it was more a pain in your wrist!

Someoneme - for you people that have comprehensive deficiencies, it cost money to have the city remove snow on city property. They will get to it. I am sure the sidewalk by Palmer is less traveled then your neighborhood sidewalks. You can clear your own for free. Big difference. If you are too lazy to clear your own, don't buy a house with a sidewalk. If you can't afford to pay to have it cleared, move out.

As of 2am last night the side walk along Palmer park on Racine st. Is still not cleared.

The snow-removal ordinance will stunt the growth of some small business owners. The guy that I contract with to do my driveway and walk will have to limit the number of customers he has in order to do them all within 2 days. He will pay any late fee billed by the city too.

BTW I was once charged $250, that the city said they sent a crew out to clear my walk. I had a neighbor help me after I got the notice. (I was laid up with a broken wrist). No crew ever came to my house. When I challenged it, the city took 2 months to say it was a mistake. What a pain.

If the city doesn't want to pay for postage to inform the property owner. Why doesn't the city employee get out of his car and put the notification on the front door. He's there already. Oh I sorry that would take effort. It's easier to drive around and list address'. Then send the crew out. When they find the walk is clear they go to the next one. It must be cheaper to have an inspector ride around, have crews ride around until they do the work or not and charge the property owner. Where is the appeal process? I do my walk to the best of my ability within 24 hours of the snow fall. Six hours later the snow drifts back over the walk. Don't I get another 48 hours?

I have seen the city send shoveling notices to me when my street hadn't been cleared for 5 days after the snow fall. If I plow my street can I charge the city at exorbitant rates?

PBRman: I love cottage cheese, especially the 1 percent version. And, no, I don't consume beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages either. Plus, no pouch here; lost it in the war.

lumberjack - I don't drink. Sorry if that ruined your dreams about me.

SarahB1 - that pouch of yours could use a little work too. Do you know cottage cheese?

jjjammer4545 I bet you don't even shovel your own sidewalks or driveway.

especially when our taxes go up and up and up and up every year and for what.

see how long this law lasts, kinda like tall grass, I been on the city about the lazy a@# accross the street, we measured it over 2 ft plus and the city did not do nothing about it. I am glad I pay taxes for them not to do there job.sorry if I sound awfull, but I am sick of it.

Still waiting - As I said in a previous post - the city still has not shoveled / plowed the sidewalks they own by a park near my house. Usually they get to it in a week or so. Can I fine them? lol

CITY OF JANESVILLE!!! Teach what Preach! How is it even fare that these are our rules as citizens, yet you let the city owned sidewalks go for 5 - 6 days on the blizzard snowfall, and again tonight I just went down Milton Ave...Guess what letters will be out monday AM im sure, but YOU still have not touched Milton Aves sidewalks! Mt Zions, and countless other walks. You must take care of this issue first. We can't hire police officers that steal, beat their families, and think thats ok...How is this? We should all go, agree to the contractors, and as a group, hire these contractors to do the city's walks. I would love to send them a letter. I myself do mine, and help my neighbors, however theres plenty of people that leave town, get sick whatever reason, don't get them done...I am not saying this is ok... But I think its so messed up the city goes out and does residents walks, before they do there own. Thats TERRIBLE MANAGEMENT!!!!!

My husband plows for the city. He does not know anyones health problems, thier age or ability to remove snow.He does know how he was instucted to remove the snow from the route he plows. For all you that think it's personal---I get the four feet plus in my driveway also.

I live on a corner lot and try to keep it cleaned within 4 hours of a storm. Sometimes a kind neighbor helps me out by plowing the drive with his snow blower and I help him back by shoveling his walk during the day when he is at work. This is a good neighbor practice that I learned when I was growing up. Sometimes in life it makes you feel better to do something for someone else without expectation of gain. I do have one complaint though. As city crews, who have done a good job of clearing snow this winter, round the corner on my street they dump a huge amount of snow in my driveway and not across the street where snow depth is two to three feet lower and unobscured. I don't like to think that the drivers are sadists who like to see an "old man" struggle every winter with heavy snow in a pile 30' by 10' and 4' high but that may be the case. I also notice that some of my neighbors who are younger or healthier than I often neglect clearing crosswalks, fire hydrants or sidewalks and seldom or never have received tickets or bills for the work. I've had a heart attack, triple bypass surgery, 2 catheterizations and angioplasties and recent cancer(melanoma) surgery of the arm. I wish the city crews could help me out a little by not leaving so much snow in my drive. I'm glad that I'm too mean to die because the ambulance will never get in my driveway. I also hope my lazy arse neighbors will get off their duffs and do their jobs as city property owners. PS - I'd rather die in my flower garden on a warm spring day than in my driveway plowed over by snow on a frigid January evening.

It could be a money-maker if City Services just did ALL snow removal - streets, driveways and walks - and add it to our property tax bill.

I stand by my original comment made the last time this came up...
Sorry Uncle Fred, we can't stay for the week, it snowed in Janesville and we have to get home and shovel out the sidewalk.
And to those of you with buried corners, call City services and complain! If they buried it, the better well clean it up..remember they work for us!

Well lets see I have a old couple next to me. I keep my yard mowed. I keep my sidewalk cleared as I am too picky. I also do there drive and sidewalk as well to help them out. They help me with mine during the day if I am at work. Oh I am not fat and do not smoke. I did break my back once and have problem from that. Yet I handle my property. As for why I I do not go over there and shovel. Guess because I do not walk over there at all. I have walked other places and which are not shoveled either walking my dogs. Guess I am just to lazy to do there sidewalk since they are to lazy to do there's or mine. My main point was the city does not enforce the law they have now so why change something they will not enforce anyways.

The beer belly remark was meant about PBRman only. If it offended anyone else, I do apology. His comments really p-ss me off sometimes.

Shut up and just shovel yer damn sidewalk already. It's your obligation, not the City's.

the gender remark was way out of line,i just asked a question,an the snide remark about the cell phone or radio,was just stupid,if i had called from a cell phone or radio,that i just took out a light,the tickets would be flying,an it would have been all over the news.the obese,smoking,an beer belly remark was also just stupid,alot of smokers an beer drinkers an bigger people are the first ones out shoveling.my remark was towards the city,nothing personal.

Hey PBR i'm one of those obese smokers and my walk is usualy shoveled within an hour of the end of a snowfall, so have another beer and keep typin you arrogant peckerwood.

Why should this be a problem? If you own a home with a sidewalk and it snows. Go out when it is done and shovel.
I would bet the people who are compaining are the same ones that don't mow their lawns and leave their Christmas lights up all year.

Shovel your sidewalk you lazy bums.

hooters way out of line comment. Then again ignorance is bliss in here. Just shovel and be done with it.

That isn't funny. Most men don't have a clue how to drive they just think they do. She does a good job and can probably handle it just as good or better than a guy! That is Tracy if she had really blond hair. She is nice! she also does trash.

oh...ohhh..I saw a "female" snowplow driver working on court street the other day. Wonder if "she" was the one that took down the light pole????

The basic concept here is that we will be doing what our peer cities are already doing without many problems. They've shown it works.

Oops, sorry. I read it wrong I see it is two days to shovel. I think this is a reasonable amount of time. You still may have more than that because somebody has to complain first don't they?

Remember you have two days AFTER you receive a warning to shovel. I am sure you can get it shoveled in a day or do before somebody complains!
I agree sometimes the city doesn't get some stuff done in a timely manner BUT they have a larger area to worry about than a property owner.
I did notice the little island at the Milwaukee st,Milton Av, Atwood isn't shoveled out. You would think the apartment on that corner would be so kind to do it. No that cannot happen in Janesville. "it isn't my job" mentality wont get it done.

ihavealife-wrote some good advice- see a polite phone call does wonders istead of complaining about it.

The "you don't do yours so why should I do mine" is CHILDISH!

Justaskme- there are many services in the phone book people can call if they need help.
Like somebody mentioned if you have elderly near you maybe you could HELP them if they don't have a lot of money!

PBRman: What about the beer bellies?

You complainers about shoveling are just plain lazy. Just admit it. Probably obese smokers also.

someoneme - Why aren't you and your neighbors shoveling that sidewalk? We don't have sidewalks where I live, but people who can't shovel their driveway for whatever reason get shoveled by a neighbor.

The city should allow residents to sign-up in the fall for city snow removal services - it wouldn't cost much more than the guy I have doing mine now.

first the plows have things called radios so they probably called it on on the radio or this new thing called a cell phone when he hit the light.

Second - seriously how hard is it to wait till it stops snowing and go out and shovel? Complain about something that matters not snow removal!

"**What's good for the goose is good for the gander**" Think about it - Janesville property owners will get two days to remove snow before being fined. BUT we have city owned land, one example a sidewalk in front of a park by my house that gets shoveled / plowed a week or two AFTER a snow storm. The city wants to fine us, but is unable to remove their own snow like they should. Matter of fact, they still have not removed the snow from CITY OWNNED LAND since the last snow fall. This is a joke. I will bet many Gazette readers can cite many city owned sidewalks that do not get the snow removed.

while you all are beating down the city,heres another one for you,did anyone else see the city plow take the light down on court street,by the mcdonalds,then keep right on going?why wasnt that in the paper? lol i forgot they can do anything they want.

smsebastian, that's a common issue with foreclosures -- various nuisances. There was discussion of lawn mowing last summer. Certainly up to the sheriff's sale, though, they will consider you the legal owner, but if you don't pay it will probably be added to the tax bill.
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As for the corners, well, I love chopping through the sidewalk aprons with my Craftsman six-speed. When I didn't have it, though, I did my best using an ergonomic shovel. It's an extra exercise bonus of living on a corner -- hey, I chose the house, not the city.

There is a house on the other side of the street from me. The owners moved out this summer. They still own it. They have not been there once to shovel yet this winter. Nor has anyone else. Just like the drunk driving laws. They want to or are going to make them tougher to make things all better. When all the have to do is really just enforce the laws they have. Pay attention to how many drunk driving tickets are dropped or dismissed. Like most things. Just enforce what you have and things will get better.

If you want to complain about how the City clears it's sidewalks then call City Services and quit complaining here. There are humans who work for the City and whenever you have humans do the work, it may not be perfect every time!. For those of you who are worried about your older neighbors, then why don't you quit complaining here and do something worthwhile and clear the neighbors sidewalk? or is that too much work for you?

The city doesn't worry about clearing "their" sidewalks in time. Just the other day I saw them out plowing one sidewalk that clearly hadn't been done since the last snowfall. Also, maybe the city council should look at doing elderly or disabled people's sidewalks. Not too long ago there was a big stink about making sidewalks mandatory and people had to pay to have them put in themselves- which means more upkeep. How are some of these elderly and disabled people suppose to get out there all the time and take care of it? A driveway can be bad enough. If the city wants it, they should clear it.

I agree that sidewalks should be cleared rightaway. I also believe that it should be peoples responsibility to clear the corners so people can use the curbs to access the sidewalk. I ALSO THINK THE CITY NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR SIDEWALKS BEFORE THEY JUMP TO FINING OTHERS. WHY SHOULD THEY BE ABOVE THE LAW? Look at the five points how do people cross there without using the street? Where did that sidewalk go? COUNCIL HAVE THE CITY TAKE CARE OF THE SIDEWALKS!!!!!!!

hooters, I too own a corner lot. Getting it from both directions, all icy stuff, is just awful to deal with!! What are we supposed to do when the plows come through and bury the corner?

I lost my home in Janesville to foreclosure this summer. The bank is the official owner now. I live in another city. The City of Janesville sent me a notice, at the address of the home that used to be mine. It took close to two weeks to be forwarded. By then they had sent someone out to clear the sidewalk, and sent me a bill for $124. When I lived there, I paid a guy $30 to do the sidewalks and the drive, that's how little there is to clear. At any rate, I sent the bill back and told them it was no longer my house. I also called the City and they claimed not to be aware that I was no longer the owner. I told them to send the bill to Bank of America. I wonder if I'll get another bill this week????

I live on a corner and last year the city plows pushed snow from the street right up to the corner....creating a wall of heavy snow & ice that was over four feet high and six feet deep! Then they sent us a notice to have the sidewalk & ramp cleared or they would do it at our expense! We are one block off of a major roadway and snow from our sidestreet cannot be piled up on the other side of the major roadway. Their answer is to push the snow onto the terrace and spill it over to the sidewalk. I cannot physically chop through that much snow & ice...so it looks like I will have to pay the city to clean up the mess they made. If I had it to do all over again, I would never have purchased a house, let alone a house here in Janesville. We are literally stuck here and commuting to jobs in Dane county. Of course, if the economy gets any worse, we won't have to worry about that anymore.

I can understand plowing snow across the driveway approach but the plows don't need to go so fast that it throws it on the sidewalk. That's plain carelessness ...

Wow, this is very lenient compared to Whitewater's ordinance, and they enforce it very strictly. We have to have sidewalks cleared by 8 pm of each day. If they give you a notice (which they hang on the door) and you don't shovel, they usually have contractor do it the next day, often within 36-48 hours after the snow ends - I definitely don't consider that a bad thing. Three days seems very lenient compared to what we have.

The City also hasnt shoveled the walk all winter at the home they own at 147 N Terrace ST.

Calm down. This is just a staff recomendation. There is no way the members of this council are going to agree to take these measures. Even if they did, police will not have the time and budget to enforce them. This is just a procedure after which all involved can say they studied it and recommedations were rejected. All will feel warm and fuzzy except those who have to walk thru the snow.

I agree about the city removing their snow. Fortunately,I don't have a sidewalk, but when I drive around town I see many public sidewalks not plowed. So they should worry about that first, before they start to charge ladies in wheelchairs, that can't get it done. Our government at work.

I hope they don't charge me after I shovel and their plows fly by and dump it back on my walkways and driveway.

Then what about the city now plowing by the parks or the ramps? My mother is handicap and I am sure most of Janesville see's her wheeling around. After is snows she can not get through the ramps be it the park or a house or a set of condo's....?

So who is going to fine the city for not clearing THEIR sidewalks properly? They rarely clear the side walk that runs down the south side of the memorial bridge.