A photo taken by Councilor Jeremy Dubs from his apartment of the crosswalk in front of Hampton Court the morning after last week’s snowstorm. The sidewalks were cleared but not the curbs.
Photo credit: Jeremy Dubs
NORTHAMPTON — Following a discussion on Dec. 3, the City Council’s Ordinance Review Committee recommended that the city’s Transportation & Parking Commission review Northampton’s snow removal ordinance.
The committee recommends that the Transportation & Parking Commission identify the ordinance’s scope and any gaps that fail to meet the scope.
The recommendation comes from the committee’s discussion around the ordinance, which began when Ward 4 Councilor Jeremy Dubs shared his experience from that same day. During the Dec. 3 Ordinance Review Committee meeting, Dubs said he was unable to access some sidewalks in his neighborhood because they were not shoveled following the Dec. 2 snowstorm.
Dubs has a disability that requires him to use wheelchair, and he got into local politics as a disability activist, joining the city’s Disability Commission in 2019 before eventually running for City Council in 2023. After leaving his house around 3:30 p.m. the day after the snowstorm to get a coffee from a local shop, Dubs quickly ran into limited accessibility on certain city sidewalks due to a lack of shoveling.
During the meeting, Dubs shared multiple photos he took highlighting the city curb cuts and sidewalks in his neighborhood that had not been fully cleared of snow. Whether it was due to a property owner’s lack of responsibility, or due to city plows pushing snow over the once cleared path, these issues have been consistent around the city for years, according to Dubs. He said these issues have created additional challenges for those with disabilities like himself.
A photo taken by Councilor Jeremy Dubs of the uncleared curb cut otuside of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce on Pleasant Street. Dubs uses a wheelchair and discussed the issue of lack of enforcement on snow removal during the Ordinance Committee meeting. Photo credit: Jeremy Dubs 
One side of the crosswalk at Randolph place with the curb cut and surrounding area on the road uncleared. Dubs ran into many situations like this while going through his neighborhood the day after the snowstorm. Photo credit: Jeremy Dubs 
A photo taken by Councilor Jeremy Dubs of the driveway and sidewalk at Florida Avenue. Dubs typically takes this route to get coffee but said it was “impossible” to get on the sidewalk the day after the snowstorm, causing him to travel in his wheelchair on the road. Photo credit: Jeremy Dubs
“I wanted to get some coffee at Catalpa, which is down the street from my apartment, and I took photos of all the curb cuts on the way there. I had to ride in the middle of the street the entire way to Catalpa. There was only one curb cut that I was able to get over to access the sidewalk that leads to Catalpa,” explained Dubs. “I feel like a lot of the time I say things and people just think, ‘oh this is just Jeremy’s opinion or perspective,’ so I took these photos to show you how impossible it is to get on the sidewalks when it snows.”
The ordinance currently states that the owner responsible for a building, structure or lot of land bordering on any street, lane, court, square or public place within the city where there is a sidewalk, including any curb ramp/cut, has 24 hours after it stops snowing to remove or sand it. If the space happens to be covered by added snowplow debris, the property owner is again responsible for clearing the space on their property.
After reviewing it, the committee felt there was still an element of the ordinance lacking in terms of enforcement or management that makes sure property owners were taking full responsibility for shoveling and snow removal duties.
Dubs and other councilors reiterated this was not an attempt to start excessively fining people, but more of an exercise to review the ordinance and see if there was a more efficient way in making sure accountability is present for the city’s streets.
“I personally think somebody should be out there monitoring, a position in the city where there’s a parking enforcement officer or someone else going out there and checking these properties, because I should not have to go out there and endanger my life to do it and neither should any other disabled person,” said Dubs.
At-Large Councilor Garick Perry agreed with Dubs concerns, adding that he felt this was more of an enforcement issue rather than an issue with the ordinance. Perry, and later the full committee, recommended that a member of the Disability Commission join the Trnasportation and Parking Commission during its future discussions around the ordinance.
Councilor Stanley Moulton said he appreciated Dubs advocacy on the issue over the years, saying he has even changed his perspective on the matter.
“Ninety five percent compliance is not enough. We need 100% compliance. Because every little piece of sidewalk that is not cleared makes it impossible for many people to be mobile,” said Moulton. “To me, it used to be a nuisance. Now, I’m seeing it as a real public health issue. We need a multi-pronged solution to this that in part, as Councilor Perry says, is better tracking of the enforcement.”
Dubs told Reminder Publishing after the meeting he hopes that him speaking about the issue of proper snow removal and his persistance will help continue to bring awareness, not just to residents, but to city officials.
“Bring that awareness to them so that they understand the impact lack of snow removal has on people’s lives, especially disabled people. As a wheelchair user, it’s had an effect on me every winter since I lived here,” said Dubs. “It makes me feel angry and frustrated, but I also have to figure out a way to communicate that to people who aren’t feeling the same way, or they don’t necessarily know how it feels to have to ride in the middle of the street with cars surrounding me and I am in their way.”
Dubs said while the morning was a stressful experience for him, he was glad he took some photos of what he dealt with because he felt it would help directly show some of the challenges faced by people with disabilities when the proper snow removal maintenance is not followed.
“I was confident that because of the photos I was taking, that if people could just see what I’m going through right now, maybe it will help them to come up with a solution so people don’t have to go through this every winter,” explained Dubs.
Dubs shared that maybe from this deeper review of the ordinance, the city could take on more responsibility of assisting in clearing more city sidewalks.
“What I would ideally want is to push for the city to do more, but right now it’s not possible due to lack of staffing and resources. We’re not quite there yet, so I’m hoping there will be a day where Northampton does more to clear the sidewalks,” added Dubs. “So, what I’m trying to do is to see how we can better accomplish the goals of the ordinance, because the language is there and strong, and if we followed exactly as its written, the sidewalks would be cleared in 24 hours.”
