HOMESTEAD, Pa. — After the major snowstorm, Homestead Borough says it’s time to clear the sidewalks before school starts on Monday. If residents don’t, they could face a fine.
“If they do that, then they need to ask the people if they can afford to get them done,” said Homestead neighbor Linda Carter. “You know, it’s tight times right now, and they might not be able to afford or have the help to get it done, so fining them is not going to help. You’re just going to have people mad at you all the time.”
Channel 11 spoke with Mayor Mary Nesby, who says this decision to enforce the code is all about safety, especially for students who have to walk to school.
“By Sunday night, if we’re not seeing that you’ve made an effort from today to Sunday, that’s gonna be an issue because this is the kids, you know, they have to walk to school here. We have no busing,” Nesby said.
Anyone having trouble clearing their sidewalk can call the borough, as they are coordinating volunteers to help the borough’s “most vulnerable,” Nesby said.
West Street and Maple Street will be a high priority for the borough in making sure they are clear for students Monday morning, Nesby said.
In Etna, the borough is asking volunteers to come out Saturday morning to help shovel out the snow.
“We hope that everybody can get to their sidewalk, and if they can’t, let us know, and we have volunteers looking to help people out,” Mayor Robert Tuñón said.
Council President Alice Gabriel said the idea was inspired by the number of people calling the borough, asking how they could help the cleanup efforts.
“There’s been a lot of people who are reaching out saying they want to help in some way,” Gabriel said. “They’ve already been helping their neighbors on their street, and this is a great way to bring everyone in together to take all that energy and hopefully aid the crews who have been working so hard.”
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