CRANBURY: Officials discuss enacting snow removal lwa

By DAvid Kilby, Staff Writer
   CRANBURY — After record-breaking amounts of snow this winter, the Cranbury Township Committee has decided to consider passing an ordinance that would require snow removal from sidewalks.
   A number of residents and businesses have raised concerns about sidewalks not being shoveled, forcing some people to walk on the streets.
   The committee discussed what other towns in the area have done in regard to snow ordinances, but also noticed the uniqueness of Cranbury.
   The danger of cars parking on Main Street during a snowstorm also was discussed, and the committee considered possibly designating all of Main Street as a snow route, which would make parking there forbidden after a large snowfall.
   The committee still is discussing the details of this and other tentative parameters for the ordinance, and committee members emphasized they want to get the public involved in the discussion.
   Regarding the possible snow route, Committeeman Dan Mulligan said, “It’s a good conversation to be having because now we’re looking at alternate parking. We’re going to have to give an alternative if we pass the ordinance.”
   Rachel Doobrah, township attorney, said she was surprised Cranbury didn’t already have a snow-shoveling ordinance and said it is the only town she knows of that doesn’t have one.
   She said Plainsboro requires all property owners to shovel the sidewalks adjacent to their property 24 hours after a snowfall.
   Mayor Win Cody said that would be especially difficult for Cranbury residents who live on street corners where snow banks can reach up to 10 feet after bad storms once snowplows pile their snow there.
   Mr. Mulligan said New Jersey has no law requiring the shoveling of sidewalks, but it does have a law requiring the maintenance of sidewalks after they’re shoveled.
   Thus, if an owner shovels a sidewalk, as required by ordinance, and ice forms after he shovels, he may be liable if someone slips on the ice. But he wouldn’t have been liable if he weren’t required to shovel the sidewalk in the first place.
   The committee members and members of the public also mentioned Cranbury is in a unique situation because it has a few developments with sidewalks that are hardly ever used like those in Shadow Oaks.
   So the committee discussed if the ordinance should apply to all Cranbury residents.
   ”I think it has to be all or nothing,” Committeeman Jay Taylor said.
   ”The businesses are most likely to be ticketed,” said Ms. Doobrah. “But they are also most likely to clear their sidewalks because they want customers.”
   ”It sounds like a slippery slope,” Mr. Mulligan said. “There’s a lot of variables.”
   Mayor Cody added many residents go away for the winter and asked if they should be required to shovel their sidewalks if it snows while they’re away as was the case for many residents this past winter when it snowed the day after Christmas.
   ”If you don’t have a big snowstorm, this isn’t going to be an issue at all,” said Committeeman Dave Cook.
   Ms. Doobrah said in the beginning, residents may be upset about the ordinance, but “as time goes on, it’s going to become standard.”
   Bonnie Larson, of Cranbury Neck Road, said she bought her house before there were sidewalks in front of it and said she never wanted sidewalks.
   She said there is now 200 feet of sidewalk in front of her house, and she has to use a service to have it shoveled.
   ”Even with service, customers are on a list, and there’s no guarantee they’d be there within 24 hours,” she said.
   Mary Speer, of South Main Street, said she supports the idea of a snow ordinance.
   She said she walks to most places in town and always sees school children walking on Main Street.
   ”If sidewalks are not cleared, it’s dangerous for people of every age,” she said.
   She added that when their house is empty, they get someone else to shovel the sidewalk for them.
   Beth Veghte, chairwoman of the Recreation Commission, suggested just requiring the corners to be cleared and said that possibly could be done by the Public Works Department.
   Eugene Speer, a member of the Planning Board, said shoveling sidewalks is “part of being a good citizen in town.”
   He said if there is a law on the books, people will take that to heart.
   Mayor Cody said there are four issues regarding a possible ordinance that need to be discussed further.
   He said the committee needs to consider the snow banks formed on street corners, the remote parts of town where sidewalks are hardly used, the possibility of designating Main Street as a snow route and the owners who didn’t have sidewalks when they originally bought their house.
   The committee decided to continue the discussion at a future meeting.