GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids is doubling the number of sidewalks it's clearing of snow and ice this year.
It's part of a program the city calls "Sidewalk Snow Support."
When two or more inches of snow fall, contractors are called to remove snow from sidewalks at no cost to homeowners or business owners.
The city has doubled the number of sidewalks included this year, totaling about 200 miles.
They're highlighted on the following map:
The Department of Public Works says its goal with the program is to hit as many of the major streets as possible.
"The reason for that is, with our plow trucks, we spend extra time on those streets treating and scraping more and more. And so it's typically heavier snow because it's been treated, it's wet. And then more often than not, we're throwing snow up on the sidewalk from the road," said John Gorney, Director of Public Works.
Any snow or ice the sidewalk plows are not able to remove are the responsibility of the property owner to take care of. The program costs the city about $200,000 a season.
To learn more about Sidewalk Snow Support, click here.
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