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It’s a problem in just about every city that gets snow—sidewalks become treacherous unshoveled messes in the winter. In many cities—including Louisville—the responsibility of clearing the sidewalk falls on the property owner or tenant in the building fronting the street. And in Louisville, that responsibility is sometimes upheld and oftentimes neglected. Even today, as more winter weather bears down on the region, countless sidewalks remain unshoveled hazards for pedestrians.
Louisville law says that you have to shovel the sidewalk in front a house you own or rent. Or you have to shovel in front of your business, whether you own the building it’s in or not, or whether the building is set back 400 feet from Broadway or if it comes right up to the sidewalk on Bardstown Road. And you have to clear the sidewalk in a timely manner—in Louisville that means within 24 hours. Here’s Louisville’s ordinance governing sidewalk shoveling: