Lexington mayor: Clear your sidewalks of ice and snow. ‘We know it’s difficult.’
The city of Lexington wants residents to shovel sidewalks to make it easier for pedestrians and school-aged children to get to school and bus stops.
A local ordinance requires residents and businesses to clear sidewalks 48 hours after a snow event of 4 inches or more. If a street hasn’t been plowed, people aren’t required to clear their sidewalks.
The city has not enforced the ordinance since a massive storm hit the area in early January. But as Fayette County Public Schools canceled in-person classes Monday for a fifth consecutive day, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton is urging residents and businesses to shovel outside their homes and establishments.
“It’s important to get our sidewalks cleared so it’s easier to move through the neighborhoods,” Mayor Linda Gorton said. “We understand that it’s difficult — because of the ice and cold temperatures, we’re struggling with the side streets.
“We know it’s difficult, and everyone should be careful, but now that the worst of this storm is behind us, please step up and step outside and clear your sidewalks,” she said.
When asked if people will be fined, city officials said they are asking people to voluntarily shovel sidewalks.
Gorton and city officials are encouraging residents to help elderly and disabled neighbors who can’t shovel.
Fayette County Public Schools has yet to resume in-person classes after Winter Storm Blair covered Fayette and the surrounding counties in ice and more than 7 inches of snow in early January.
In its message to parents on Sunday, FCPS cited roads and unclear sidewalks — which many students use to get to bus stops and schools — as reasons the district opted for non-traditional instruction on Monday.
FCPS schools has been out of class since Dec. 23 due to its traditional two-week winter break. Classes were scheduled to resume Jan. 7 but were canceled last week due to unsafe driving conditions.
Snow plows have worked to keep major streets clear but have had to repeatedly re-plow roads after more snow fell between Jan. 5 and Jan. 10, city officials have said. Bitterly cold temperatures also meant salt and other treatments could not be used on many Lexington streets.
Repeated snow and cold temperatures have meant it has taken Lexington streets and road crews much longer to get to neighborhood streets.
Typically, the snow melts before the city makes its way into neighborhoods.
The city uses some private contractors to augment the city’s snow removal efforts. Those contractors are used for larger streets such as Man O War and Alumni Drive.
Those contractors are costly. The total cost to date is more than $250,000, city officials said. That includes a more than $194,000 fee to have a contractor with five trucks on stand-by before snow season begins.
The city can’t use those private contractors on smaller, residential streets because of liability reasons. There are often parked cars on neighborhood streets that can be damaged by snow plows, city officials have said.
This story was originally published January 13, 2025 at 4:27 PM.
