Op-Ed: Happy that snow ticket melts away

By Gloria Endres

There’s an old saying that there is a first for everything. At my age I have seen a lot of firsts. The list goes on and on. One of my worst firsts was slipping on black ice over 40 years ago and smashing my left elbow. Ironically, I was walking home with my family after answering a call from my parents to shovel their sidewalk to prevent just such accidents. So of course I have always been vigilant about keeping my own sidewalk clear of any such snow or ice.

Unfortunately it is possible to fall even on dry sidewalks. So that happened to me last November, when I tripped on an uneven pavement and fractured that same elbow. I had to get help from a specialist who put my arm in a brace. That accident was right before Thanksgiving and my arm took about 6 weeks to heal. I was still suffering from a sore arm right into January, and I never took action against anyone.

Meanwhile, the City of Philadelphia decided strictly and indiscriminately to enforce a recent law demanding that homeowners or tenants be held accountable for shoveling a path in front of their property. That law includes fines from $50 to $300.

What makes this story interesting is that we had very little snow last winter. In January of this year, Philadelphia experienced a total of 8.1 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service, less than half the city’s average snowfall of 20.3 inches.

All I know is that due to my sore arm, I could not do any heavy lifting. I depended on my neighbors to help me clear a path through such low accumulation in January. Interestingly, even when snow does accumulate, my side of the sidewalk tends to be clearer, partly due to its exposure to the sun, and the way the wind blows. I know for a fact that, when we did get snowfall, the area in front of my home was mostly clear and free of ice and snow.

Apparently, that wasn’t good enough for the Philadelphia Streets Department. For the first time since I moved into my home in 1972, I was issued a ticket for $50 for not shoveling snow. So were a small number of other neighbors. The really odd thing is that I never received the citation until March.

That’s when I consulted a neighbor who knows more about these things than I do. He suggested that I appeal. The only number I had on file was the office of state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler. So I called. The person who answered referred me to a contact in the office of Councilman Mark Squilla. So I called him. He said he would work on it.

Well, that first appeal was not accepted, and I received another ticket in June for $90. The citation was accompanied by all kinds of threats to my property and other consequences.

At first I decided to end all this drama with a check for $90. Then I was urged by my smart neighbor to call back Squilla’s office. So I did. This time my contact promised it would all get fixed. It took a little over a week, but he kept his word. He sent me two notices. The first was a cancellation of the fine. The second was a cancellation of the hearing he had requested. The amount due is now $00.00.

With my own injuries, I certainly get the fact that we must do what is necessary to keep each other safe. What concerns me is that, at least in my case, neither my age nor disability mattered in deciding to cite me for a violation I actually did not commit. Only thanks to intervention by my service representative in Councilman Squilla’s office was I freed from awful penalties.