At 72 years of age, Karen McManus says she doesn’t want her life complicated by a broken hip from a fall caused by ice or snow.
On Tuesday, McManus had a particularly difficult time in front of a few stores in downtown Durango and in the U.S. post office parking lot.
“At the post office, it looked like maybe somebody had tried to shovel some of it off. But you know with all those cars driving on it, it was icy,” she said. “I’m 72, but I’m pretty agile and healthy. But, you know, I saw this one elderly man who was not, so much. I just thought: Oh, this isn’t good.”
Tom Sluis, spokesman for the city of Durango, said city code requires homeowners and business owners to remove snow from public sidewalks adjoining their property. If a commercial or residential property is vacant, it is the responsibility of the property owner to clear the snow.
Steve Barkley, code enforcement officer with the city of Durango, said if snow is not removed from sidewalks within 24 hours of a storm, a courtesy notice or violation is served to the person responsible for the property and a follow-up visit is scheduled to verify compliance.
The second visit might include a verbal warning that a fine could be issued or the city might hire a contractor to remove the snow and bill the responsible party if the snow has not been cleared.
The city could also issue a court summons if a responsible party has not removed snow from the sidewalk. Anyone found guilty of violating the snow removal ordinance can be fined up to $1,000.
McManus said when she lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the community used a listserv to match people who had difficulty removing snow from sidewalks with neighborhood kids who would do the job for extra cash.
“I haven’t seen anything like that in Durango, but it worked very well. It was coordinated with the village manager,” she said.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
