# Fuck you. Shovel your sidewalk. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 4, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141 "2011-02-04T13:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/41 "2011-02-04T17:46:53Z")
I frequently don’t shovel the sidewalk. Problem is that the county narrowed the grass strip between my sidewalk and the road to the point where when they plow the road, and pile the plowed snow from half the road out of the street, a lot of it ends up on the sidewalk (& beyond that, on my lawn, if it’s a big enough snow). It’s one thing to shovel the snow that landed on your sidewalk, but quite another to shovel a good portion of the snow from a 25 foot wide section of road, especially as it’s generally very heavy slushy snow. In addition, a lot of the streets in my town and neighborhood don’t have sidewalks altogether and people commonly walk in the street. I understand that the gov put a sidewalk on my street so that people could walk on it, but in a pinch they can get by walking on the street, like on a lot of other blocks. That said, I sometimes do shovel it. Depends on how much snow fell or was plowed onto the sidewalk, and on whether the neighbors on either side of me shovel theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/42 "2011-02-04T17:50:20Z")
Just got done chipping away the last of the 1.5" ice block covering my sidewalk. I am, as you can imagine, the ONLY one on the block to have done so. I’m charitable, but I ain’t doing that shit all over again for anyone else. Only a few people have put salt down to at least speed up the melting from the sun - which really only prevents the sun from reglazing everything into a nice, even, completely frictionless surface (The Sun: Nature’s Zamboni). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/43 "2011-02-04T17:50:53Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I’m getting the hang of the dope. > January is rape month. > February is snow month. I’m kind of hoping February is bitch month. Everyone gets all tired of winter and snow and it not being spring yet and we’re all crabby and irritable and WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!? ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/44 "2011-02-04T17:51:23Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I have a tiny little irrational fear that one day some bizarre set of circumstances will end up moving me to somewhere that has snow and I _won’t know the rules._ I didn’t know you have to shovel your sidewalk! (I am only a little clear on what a snow shovel looks like, though.) WERD. We don’t have a sidewalk, but I had no clue that was the rule anyway. That sounds really shitty. Maybe I _don’t_ want to move to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/45 "2011-02-04T17:53:59Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Just got done chipping away the last of the 1.5" ice block covering my sidewalk. I am, as you can imagine, the ONLY one on the block to have done so. I’m charitable, but I ain’t doing that shit all over again for anyone else. Only a few people have put salt down to at least speed up the melting from the sun - which really only prevents the sun from reglazing everything into a nice, even, completely frictionless surface (The Sun: Nature’s Zamboni). My house faces pretty much due south. It is funny to see how our side of the street is completely snow free, and the other side is still pretty much completely covered. Of course, this means my garage is north facing, and the Alpine ridge of snow from the trucks going down the alley was a complete freaking pain to carve through. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/46 "2011-02-04T17:54:11Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I have a tiny little irrational fear that one day some bizarre set of circumstances will end up moving me to somewhere that has snow and I _won’t know the rules._ I didn’t know you have to shovel your sidewalk! (I am only a little clear on what a snow shovel looks like, though.) I’m the same way! There’s such a thing as snow etiquette? Over here, we have a strip of grass between the street and the sidewalk. We water it when we can, but nobody’s ever told us specifically that the grass there is our responsibility. So you’re supposed to shovel out your sidewalks when it snows? Why? Couldn’t people just not walk there? It’s city property, my first thought would be that if I want to take a stroll in freezing temps, I’m the crazy one, not the people who own the house in front of the sidewalk I want to walk on who don’t want to add a few more hours of work to their normal work days. Then again, I don’t understand how people can live in a place that snows and they have to shovel out their cars before they go to work. Do you guys start later in the day or something? You cannot get me out before 6am. It’s too cold. If my car’s snowed in, I’m calling in sick 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/47 "2011-02-04T18:01:12Z")
**Kimstu** : You could always deposit the shoveled-out snow in front of their door. 😃 **YogSosoth** : You get up earlier and shovel/snowblow, and allot extra time for the drive too, so you can make it in on time. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/48 "2011-02-04T18:02:10Z")
We have snow on the roads and sidewalks about six months of the year - we don’t put our lives on hold for six months. As for walking in the street, they built the sidewalks for a reason in the first place - roads are where the cars drive. You non-northerners have brought up another one - _I’m new to this area and I haven’t noticed that every other sidewalk on the street is clear except for mine and I thought it was being done by magical snow shovelling fairies._ Fuck you. Shovel your sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/49 "2011-02-04T18:06:06Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > Holy shit - some CITIES shovel the sidewalks? We’ve lived in our house for 10 years and have never even seen a snowplow on our street. > > Then again, our street doesn’t have sidewalks. But still. Oh we have that. It’s just not reliable in any way. The guy comes by in a little mini-cat with a plow on the front whenever the hell he feels like it. Come to think of it, he may not even work for the city. He may be some rogue samaritan. Who has landlords/ladies that shovel the walks? Around here the downstairs resident is responsible, precisely to avoid that absentee landlord dodge ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/50 "2011-02-04T18:07:05Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You have to shovel your sidewalk. **You have to shovel it in a timely fashion (within 24 hours of a snowfall here and I suspect most places).** You _should_ (don’t have to) shovel the snow onto your own yard, not the street - your grass and trees need the water, the road does not. You should do it slowly with proper bending and lifting technique so you don’t hurt yourself. You should have a discussion with your landlord as to who is responsible for shovelling (I think this is why a lot of sidewalks aren’t shovelled - tenants don’t do it, and the landlords don’t bother) and bust your landlord’s ass if he doesn’t do it within 24 hours (if he can’t make it over, he needs to make arrangements - as a homeowner, he is still responsible). If you’re old and you can’t shovel, you can’t afford anyone to help you, and you have no one to help you, you need to think about maybe living somewhere that doesn’t have sidewalks you’re responsible for. > > You also have to salt/sand if you get ice from melt-off on the sidewalk, too (melts in the day, freezes at night). Sidewalk maintenance doesn’t stop with taking the snow off. I was walking to Safeway this winter and one house along the way had sheer ice for the entire length of their sidewalk - seriously, people, you have to do something about that. > > In case it wasn’t obvious, I heartily endorse this pitting. Shovel your sidewalks. What the hell? I have to? There’s no enforcement in my city if I don’t shovel my sidewalk within 24 hours, or ever, for that matter. And if someone were to bitch to me about not shoveling my sidewalk, I’d bring up the argument I made previously in this thread, about the assholes parking in such a way that blocks the sidewalk. I have no landlord; I own my house, and have for 18 years. I’ll shovel the sidewalk if I want; and in fact, usually do out of courtesy and consideration, but not because I _have_ to. As for the grass and trees needing the water? There’s already snow on the ground…they’ll get the water they need (and too much of it besides, depending on the amount of snow). I sometimes toss the snow from the sidewalk into the street, sometimes into my yard. Not that two wrongs make a right, but my neighbors often use those hearing-killing leaf blowers and blow grass and leaves into the street. So I feel I’m within my rights to shovel some snow into the gutter, which will simply go down the drain (a lot of the runoff from the grass simply runs to the gutter as well). While I have no problem endorsing the pitting, for the most part, I just think people should be more considerate about the common areas on which we walk, period. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/51 "2011-02-04T18:21:45Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Who has landlords/ladies that shovel the walks? Around here the downstairs resident is responsible, precisely to avoid that absentee landlord dodge We do, at the house we rent, but the guy only snowblows the sidewalk and driveway, not the walk up to the house or the front/back steps. Plus it’s snow removal only, no salting/sanding, which a lot of shovelers forget about, it seems. I also knew there was no way (understandably) he was coming out during the blizzard, so my husband and I both did a lot of shoveling (we don’t have access to the snowblower, sadly) during and after it. The driveway alone needed three shovelings on Wednesday (getting out, middle of the day removal of serious accumulation, getting in), not counting the “undo the wall that the passing plow just erected” removals. I had a trench shoveled from the front door to the street by 8:30 am Wednesday in case the mail would be coming, as my postal worker husband had gone to work that day. The “I don’t wanna shovel” people need to think about who else needs access to their property (meter readers, delivery people, emergency personnel) as well as who they might end up forcing to walk in the street, risking falling/being hit by a sliding car, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/52 "2011-02-04T18:22:59Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Oh we have that. It’s just not reliable in any way. The guy comes by in a little mini-cat with a plow on the front whenever the hell he feels like it. Come to think of it, he may not even work for the city. He may be some rogue samaritan. > > Who has landlords/ladies that shovel the walks? Around here the downstairs resident is responsible, precisely to avoid that absentee landlord dodge That’s why I say you have to work it out between the tenants and the landlord - when I’m a tenant, I’ll shovel the walk rather than let it just stay snowed under and look like an asshole. Some (most) renters wouldn’t bother, and the landlords don’t live there, so they don’t care until they get the bill for the snow shovelling in the mail (that’s how our city does it here - you get a warning to shovel that shit, then they come out and do it for you and bill the homeowner). **Prelude** , if you don’t have bylaws that require you to shovel, then do as you please, of course. We have bylaws here with regard to keeping your private sidewalks clean (and I fairly sure a lot of cities do). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/53 "2011-02-04T18:39:58Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Question from a non-American - how is it that the sidewalk outside your home is considered “yours”? I would’ve assumed it’s public property. It’s not obvious to me how snow shovelling is different from other maintenance, but i doubt you’re responsible for that too. Sidewalks and grassy areas between the sidewalk and street are kind of weird like that: you don’t own them, it is considered public property; however, the homeowner is responsible for basic maintenance. For the most part, this means mowing the grassy areas and shoveling snow off the sidewalks. And you can usually plant flowers or what have you in the grassy area if you want, but you can’t cut down trees or remove signs and things that the city puts there. I’m outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Supposedly, we’re required to shovel our sidewalks within 24 hours of snowfall, and for the most part it gets done, but the number of recent storms has overwhelmed a lot of people. One guy has his sidewalk completely cleared, but no way to get to it - the entrance from the street is blocked by a huge plowed-up snow pile. It’s annoying, but I sympathize - shoveling fallen snow is one thing, chopping and digging through four feet of packed snow and ice is another. We live on a corner lot and keep the front sidewalk clear, but the city plows have used our entire side sidewalk as a snow dump. It’s under 4-8 feet of snow, and I’m sorry, but I just can’t shovel that much. Not to mention, where the heck would I put it? Yes, I know it’s a pain - I take the train every day, too, and I used to use that sidewalk every day. Sorry. We’ll just have to suffer together. Feel free to pile on. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/54 "2011-02-04T18:40:57Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s why I say you have to work it out between the tenants and the landlord - when I’m a tenant, I’ll shovel the walk rather than let it just stay snowed under and look like an asshole. Some (most) renters wouldn’t bother, and the landlords don’t live there, so they don’t care until they get the bill for the snow shovelling in the mail (that’s how our city does it here - you get a warning to shovel that shit, then they come out and do it for you and bill the homeowner). > > **Prelude** , if you don’t have bylaws that require you to shovel, then do as you please, of course. We have bylaws here with regard to keeping your private sidewalks clean (and I fairly sure a lot of cities do). I’m of the sort that if I had bylaws, I’d follow them without complaint. Those who don’t follow bylaws like that are complete shits IMO. Of course, as I’ve mentioned, it’s plain courteous to do it anyway, since we all have to live there (you and your neighbors, wherever you happen to live). But even if I don’t shovel, I try to be courteous to my neighbors in other ways, such as keeping noise down, keeping my yard clean and free of litter, etc. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/55 "2011-02-04T18:58:12Z")
Luckily, no sidewalk for me. The city plows the sidewalk across the street though. My snow peeve: The motherfucking asshat plow drivers that just wait for you to finish shovelling your driveway… and then plow you back in. One even waved at me while doing it. Get it clean again, then they go through with the pusher bar, which moves the mounds from the edge of the street back into your yard about 3’. Again, of course, totally covering the end of the driveway. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/56 "2011-02-04T19:15:54Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > So you’re supposed to shovel out your sidewalks when it snows? Why? Couldn’t people just not walk there? It’s city property, my first thought would be that if I want to take a stroll in freezing temps, I’m the crazy one, not the people who own the house in front of the sidewalk I want to walk on who don’t want to add a few more hours of work to their normal work days. Remember that in colder climes, if you don’t shovel the snow, it melts and refreezes into an ice sheet, and more layers of snow and ice form on top of that. Here in TX no one shovels because it’ll go away itself in 24-48 hours (this week excepted) but in places with real winter, it means having the sidewalk out of commission for months and months. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/57 "2011-02-04T19:28:16Z")
I live in a university town, and with all these little snows we’ve been having (every week, anywhere from 2-8 inches of snow/sleet/ice/freezing rain combos), you can tell exactly which houses are owner-occupied, and which are students. The students will not shovel – so you walk along the shoveled pavements, then reach the frozen, uneven, icy mess of student-house-frontage, then back to cleared pavements. It is a pet peeve every winter, especially when I have to walk my dog, as walking in the street isn’t an option. The biggest snow here (Newark, DE) so far this winter was a week or so ago, about 8 inches – I’m not very big, and I"m on my own, so I was out Wednesday night shoveling the 4 or so inches already on the ground, to stay ahead of the storm. This was about 10pm, roads covered with snow and ice, and loads of students out, driving up and down the main road in front of my house, sliding and careering about; I had stuff thrown at me and students shouting at me while I worked. Yeah, whatever. The students next door have taken to parking their cars in their backyard – which means when all of the snow starts melting finally, since I’m down hill from them, whatever crap is leaking out of their cars will flood into my back garden along with all the snow-melt and run off. Cheers for that. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/58 "2011-02-04T19:30:49Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > “Now the guy’s got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with the bill? He can go to Paulie. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie. But now the guy’s gotta come up with Paulie’s money every week, no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning, huh? Fuck you, pay me!” False equivalency. Sociopathic behavior in the name of the common good is entirely justifiable. And the sooner you learn that, the less often I’m going to have to slash your tires or throw bricks through your windshield to remind you what a fuckup you are. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/59 "2011-02-04T19:31:05Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I’m getting the hang of the dope. > January is rape month. > February is snow month. Any suggestions for the theme for March? We could try raping snow. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141/60 "2011-02-04T19:33:09Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > Holy shit - some CITIES shovel the sidewalks? Downtown, maybe. I’m not actually sure how it’s handled in commercial districts. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Speaking of pissed-off pedestrians, there’s this church near me that _never shovels its fucking sidewalk_. Time to start putting together “What Would Jesus Shovel?” flyers. > [@YogSosoth](#): > > So you’re supposed to shovel out your sidewalks when it snows? Why? Couldn’t people just not walk there? I have not the words to properly express how deeply ignorant this question is. To give you some perspective, it’s probably about the equivalent of saying, “You’re supposed to vaccinate your babies? Why? Can’t they just not get sick?” > [@saoirse](#): > > Who has landlords/ladies that shovel the walks? Every apartment I’ve lived in, my landlord has had the snow removal and de-icing taken care of. My dad lived in the downstairs of a duplex for about ten years when I was a kid, and he (by which I mean mostly my brother and I) did the shoveling there, but I think that was somehow factored into his lease. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-shovel-your-sidewalk/570141.md?page=4)