Property owners are responsible for clearing sidewalks of snow, ice: Is the city enforcing this?

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Residents in Richmond are still seeing heavy buildup of snow and ice after it came down on Sunday, Jan. 25. Not only is it unsafe to drive on ice, but it’s also unsafe to walk on it. Sidewalks still coated in the ice is making it risky to get outside. 

“We were needing some fresh air, and we wanted to see what the roads looked like, and we were maybe thinking about building a snow man but it’s too hard," said Richmond resident Rin Prestyly.

With two friends along for the ride, Prestyly put removable spikes, typically used for hiking, on her shoes.

"This is the only thing keeping me on my feet," she said.

According to the city's website, "Per City Code, Sec. 24-34, you must clear the snow on sidewalks adjacent to your property within 6 hours of snow stopping or by 11:00 a.m. the next day if snow continues to fall through the night. City code holds property owners and occupants responsible for doing so. If you see sidewalks that are not cleared within the allotted timeframe, please contact Customer Care at 3-1-1 and enter a service request for Code Enforcement/DPW so the matter can be addressed."

“We don’t want our citizens walking in the street and in harm's way," director of the Department of Public Works Bobby Vincent said.

That six hour period has passed, so is this being enforced by the city? 

“Code enforcement certainly does have it on their side to be able to enforce that," Vincent said. "But everybody that steals a candy bar doesn’t get caught so at some point in time we need for people to do the right thing."