Arlington residents and businesses with icy sidewalks may begin hearing from the county starting today (Tuesday).
County Manager Mark Schwartz ended a pause on enforcement of Arlington’s snow removal ordinance at 9 a.m. today, dispatching code enforcement inspectors to begin ensuring compliance. Parking enforcement will also resume “on a limited basis” this week, according to a press release.
When Arlington receives more than six inches of snowfall, the snow removal ordinance technically requires property owners to clear sidewalks within 36 hours after the last flake falls. However, the combination of ice and extremely low temperatures led Schwartz to suspend the ordinance for over a week.
“Because of the nature of this snow, I didn’t want the County penalizing residents and businesses unfairly, but the responsibility of property owners to do what they could to ensure the safety of our walkways never went away,” Schwartz said.
The intention is “to identify locations and situations that pose a public safety hazard and to encourage voluntary compliance with snow and ice removal requirements,” county spokesperson Ryan Hudson told ARLnow.
Schwartz also ended the county’s declaration of local emergency.
It’s unclear how officials will handle enforcement for sidewalks covered in large piles of snow and ice placed by Arlington and VDOT crews using plows and other heavy equipment. Shovels and consumer snow blowers are little match for the mountains of “snowcrete” in some spots, as long as temperatures remain below or near freezing.
The snow removal ordinance “contains an exemption for snow that is redeposited on the sidewalk as a result of ‘government action,'” the county’s website notes.
Unlawfully parked vehicles, meanwhile, will re-enter the county’s crosshairs.
“Enforcement will focus on cars parked in travel lanes or ways that obstruct streets, as well as parking lots that have been cleared and are being actively used by the public,” the press release says.
Crews have hauled more than 5,000 truckloads of snow — weighing roughly 55,000-75,000 tons, in total — from Arlington’s commercial areas since the snowstorm. They’ve deposited these at five locations around Arlington, at 14th Street N., Fairfax Drive, N. Quincy Street, Long Bridge Park and 601 S. Carlin Springs.
The sites were selected based on their proximity to the Rosslyn-Ballston and Pentagon City commercial corridors. The county sought “to identify locations that would cause the least amount of operational disruption for facilities,” Hudson said.
However, the activity did lead to the Arlington Farmers Market in Courthouse getting canceled last weekend.
“Crews are winding down hauling operations, with limited site drop-offs as we continue to clean up commercial corridors and improve safety for vehicles and pedestrians this week,” Hudson said.
Crews have also responded to 25 water main breaks since the storm. They’ve cleared more than 1,000 miles of roads, 10 miles of protected bike lanes and 63,000 feet of sidewalk, working 14 consecutive 12-hour shifts beginning on Jan. 24.
