A stretch along Monmouth Street is one of many culprits in violation of Red Bank’s snow removal ordinance requiring property owners to clear the snow and ice from their sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Although most of the downtown and residential properties’ sidewalks are clear from the recent blasts of snow, there are still some out there that haven’t seen a good shoveling in a while. Aside from causing a pedestrian hazard, it’s against borough ordinance.
The borough has, in turn, slapped lots of people with fines for not keeping the sidewalks clear of ice and snow.
From left to right, a Bridge Avenue residence, the sidewalk in front of 7-11 and the sidewalk in front of a Branch Avenue home, just near the Little Silver town line. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)
Borough Administrator Stanley Sickels tells redbankgreen that the code enforcers handed out 50 summonses to business and property owners following the snow storm last Wednesday. A bunch more following the most recent snowfall, on Saturday, have also been written, he said.
“We’ve been going around. We’ve been citing people,” Sickels said. “They’re supposed to clear the sidewalks from snow and ice.”
Local law says owners have to do so within 24 hours after a snowfall. Failure to do so results in a $100 fine.
A Wednesday afternoon constitutional by redbankgreen showed most, if not all, businesses on Broad Street were clear. On the outskirts, however, were some spots that were difficult to get through.
At the Maple Avenue 7-11, the sidewalk abruptly ends at the south end of the parking lot with a pile of snow. Same thing on a residential stretch of Bridge Avenue, where there’s an icy path in front of a couple homes.
Although Monmouth Street is, for the most part, clear of any ice or snow, there’s a section ranging from Zoom Hair Studio to H&R Block that’s lined with ice. One business on that strip, Jamian’s Food and Drink, was completely clear.
Sickels said anybody who sees a problem can report it to the code enforcement officer at 732.530-.2760.
Here’s the ordinance, by the way: chapter-13-property-maintenance1
