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Bangor public works plans education-first approach to sidewalk plowing enforcement
Summary
Public Works will start an education campaign and improve tracking before asking the city manager to authorize removal-and-charge enforcement under the city—s snow-and-ice ordinance; staff said the $100-per-day mechanism cited earlier is not applicable without manager direction.
City of Bangor Public Works on Monday told the Infrastructure Committee it will begin a proactive education campaign and improve tracking before moving to enforcement for properties that deposit snow or ice onto public sidewalks.
Public Works staff said they reviewed enforcement mechanisms for ordinance 2304-6 (deposit of snow and ice on public ways) with the city solicitor and found that the department—s practical enforcement option is to remove prohibited snow or ice and charge back the property owner only when directed by the city manager.
The nut graf: after a winter of hundreds of notifications, staff said they do not have capacity to remove snow from many private properties and issue invoices without prior direction. Instead staff proposed a phased approach: education and press outreach before winter, targeted signposting and mapping of repeat offenders during the season, and only after outreach is exhausted will Public Works request manager authorization to remove and bill.
Public Works said staff will publish updated sidewalk-plowing maps and violation lists on the city website before winter, use asset-management software to map notifications and signs, and coordinate social-media and local-media outreach. The department also plans a public-service announcement, and will track whether failures are primarily homeowners or contractors.
Committee members raised questions about public receptivity. Staff said last winter generated many calls and pushback; most complaints stemmed from plow-contracted snow pushed onto sidewalks, not from individual shoveling. Staff said they will start with education, follow up with in-person visits to repeat offenders and only then take cases to the city manager for removal-and-charge, hoping to avoid large-scale billing actions.
The committee discussed signage and possible targeted traffic-control changes for related street projects; staff said the department will return with a post-season summary and suggested improvements for FY2026 budgeting and policy consideration.
Ending: staff said the goal is to reduce pedestrian safety risks by keeping sidewalks clear while using education and improved tracking to avoid overburdening residents and department resources; no formal changes to ordinance 2304-6 were proposed at the meeting.
