Residents and business owners will now be required to remove snow from sidewalks in front of their property within 48 hours of the end of a snowfall, according to Cranbury committee member Jay Taylor.
The Cranbury Township Committee adopted the ordinance with a 3-0 vote, which also allows Cranbury police officers to ask those who have not cleared sidewalks to do so.
People who do not comply will not face a fine, according to the committee.
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"We've had a need for an ordinance like this for awhile," said committee member Glenn Johnson, citing a story he was told by a resident whose son was almost hit by a vehicle, because he was forced to walk in the street due to snow not removed from a sidewalk.
"Unless we have something on the books, we're not going to get any better compliance from our residents and businesses,” Johnson said.
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At the end of May, the township committee first took up the issue citing numerous letters and emails sent to committee members inquiring whether or not Cranbury would consider instituting such an ordinance.
During committee meetings work sessions since May, questions were raised about how the ordinance would work. Following three months of work sessions and readings, the committee voted on Monday to adopt the township’s first ever snow ordinance, based on neighborly civility, but also stipulated on safety.
Township resident Mary Spear wrote in support of the ordinance, which was read by Township Clerk Kathleen Cunningham, "I would like to express my strong support of the ordinance and my appreciation to the committee members who have supported it...I hope that it will foster effective snow removal."
