Politics
Key Panel Rejects Scaled-Back Effort to Have City Crews Clear Sidewalks of Snow and Ice
(Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
A scaled-back effort to test the ability of city crews to clear not just Chicago’s roads but also its sidewalks of snow and ice during winter storms was rejected Friday by a joint session of two City Council committees.
Groups advocating for improvements to Chicago’s walking, biking and transit infrastructure have been pushing city officials to take responsibility for clearing sidewalks of snow since 2022, saying the city has an obligation to ensure people with disabilities and other vulnerable residents can get around safely.
Even though the city’s 2025 budget included $500,000 for the program — dubbed “Plow the Sidewalks” — the effort will not move forward after the City Council’s Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, meeting in a joint session with the Transportation Committee, rejected officials’ plan to plow sidewalks in two small parts of the city on the South and Southwest sides no more than seven times after a snowfall of more than seven inches.
On the South Side, the pilot would have taken place in a part of Englewood bounded by 59th Street on the north, Marquette Road on the south, State Street on the east and Racine Avenue on the west.
On the Southwest Side, the pilot would have taken place in parts of Archer Heights and Brighton Park between Western Avenue and Lawndale Avenue south of Archer Avenue and north of 59th Street.
Despite the support of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward), the chair of the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, the plan is now on ice because of concerns that the city, facing a $1.15 billion shortfall in 2026, cannot afford to take on new services.
Other alderpeople voted to nix the program because of concerns that the city could face lawsuits if someone slipped and fell on a sidewalk cleared by city crews.
City law requires building owners to clear the sidewalk near their properties, and they can face fines if they fail to do so. But in practice, property owners rarely face sanctions for failing to shovel, often forcing people into the street if they can’t navigate the snow and ice.
The original proposal would have launched the pilot program in dense neighborhoods and those pockmarked by vacant lots.
The plan backed by Johnson would have cost between $1.1 million and $3.5 million per year.
Toronto and Montreal in Canada, and Syracuse and Rochester in New York already have sidewalk clearance programs, as well as suburbs like Forest Park, officials said.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
