If plows had to worry about wrecking everyone's sidewalk shoveling jobs how would they ever get the roads cleared? This is just one of these you have to deal with.

I guess I always considered snow plows just forces of nature. You shake your fist at the imaginary snow-plow guy while digging the new three foot high pile of snow and salt sitting on your car, and just live with it. They do have to plow the roads, after all, for *everyone's* safety. But then, I'm used to municipal snow plows - maybe with a private company you can get more of a response.

This is from a Boston point of view, though. It could very well be different in different parts of the country.

I visit your site to get away from the snow outside my door. The last thing I want to see is snow on it.

Although it is impossible to predicted when plow trucks will come by, we try to not do any heavy shoveling until after they have come through the neighborhood. Typically that means we have to dig everything out under a pile of snow, but at least it doesn't have to be done twice.

I hear your frustration - same thing happened to us after we cleared our driveway. Thing is, it really isn't the plow driver's problem. His (or her) job is to clear the snow off the road. If there's so much that it spills over onto your sidewalk while doing so...tough. I'm amazed that you were able to convince them to come back and take care of any of it.

It's "etiquette", unless the article refers to a code of behavior for quitters.

And yes, the snowplows ALWAYS cover our (and everyone else's) freshly cleaned driveway, and it never occurred to us that we should complain about it. That snow from the road has to go somewhere.

I agree with malhs. It stinks that his handiwork was destroyed, but c'est la vie. Question: I used to live in NYC, and am familiar with the crazy taxes, so why is it not the city's responsibility to clear the sidewalks? Growing up in Canada, that was something that was looked after by the city (mostly, ha ha). Citizens were responsible for clearing their own driveways, and that was about it. Also, our shoveling etiquette was to pile the snow on one's own lawn as opposed to pushing it onto the sidewalk or the street. There was always the one guy that would do it, but it was frowned upon. Obviously the lawn part doesn't apply in NYC, but if it's a brownstone/townhouse, there's that area on the garden level. Otherwise, if you are in a building isn't it the management's responsibility?

The worst is when people use their snowblowers to shoot the snow back onto the street, and at passing cars, usually mine. Snow/ice chunks shooting out at my car? I kill your face. Why can't you shoot the snow onto your own lawn?

I think you're being a bit unfair. The snow-plowers are just trying to do their job. While you're responsible for a bit of sidewalk, they've got the whole city to clear (and lots of hostile city-dwellers to contend with, by the sound of it). Plows ALWAYS make big piles on the sidewalk. The snow has to go somewhere. Some day your kid will build great forts in those piles.
Next time, wait until the plow has passed before you go out to shovel. Isn't that Northern-Latitude-Living 101? For now, pour yourself a mug of hot cocoa and think of what good exercise shoveling is!

I live in a cul-de-sac that never gets plowed so those of us who live in it all help out trying to keep the snow at bay. I usually shovel mine and my neighbors driveway, and my other neighbor has a snow blower so they do a lot of the actual culdesac.
I'm weird, I love shoveling snow. Go Ohioans!

Yes. Doesn't this happen to everyone after every single snowfall? There's two shovelings that need to be done: the intitial shoveling, and the after-plow shoveling.

We've had a lot of snow here (in Canada we don't coin terms for it like "Snowmageddon" - we just call it "winter"). My BF is out of the country and I have a back injury from a car accident, so I've been delinquent on keeping up with the shoveling. And I feel SO GUILTY. I was worried that's what this post was going to be about - like maybe my neighbours wrote in to AT to complain abut me. Ha.

Urgh this really ticks me off. We share a common balcony with our downstairs neighbors, so in order for them to get to their home, they have to walk "past" our front door right? Well we live in good old Montreal, so we get ladled with snow every year. Now last week, I decided to be a good neighbor and shovel the whole balcony, and salt it. When I got home last night, the day after the blizzard, I come home to see our neighbors have shoveled THEIR side of the balcony, and left a nice foot high, 2' x 2' square of snow in front of our door... I was really pissed off, all that for what 2' of snow? Like really, your THAT lazy & selfish? Im a woman and I shoveled the WHOLE thing, they're TWO guys, and this is the neighborly behavior we get? Shame on them.

I guess we all have different challenges with snow and snow removal -- and I can understand you are frustrated with your situation. Other than waiting to shovel your sidewalk until after the snow plows come along, I don't know what else you can do. I can't believe they actually came back to clean your sidewalk! In the city, people on side streets are just happy to see snow plows at all, which then bury cars parked along the way, create mountains that pedestrians have to climb over, and so forth. "Good" neighborhoods get better and faster snow removal service than the rest of us regular folks -- their sidewalks and crosswalks are clean and dry while we are still slipping and sliding along icy, unshoveled paths for days or sloshing through slushy intersections. In neighborhoods with abandoned houses or businesses, the sidewalks go unshoveled and unsalted. Subway entrances are just plain hazardous. When I lived out in Colorado, they left snow on the ground assuming it would melt or evaporate and seemed to have no idea what to do with ice (which was less usual). Other than moving to a warm climate, or hiring private snow removal companies for your neighborhood, it is what it is.

My husband has spent a lot of time plowing snow, and he believes firmly that plows should be out early to get the roads cleared- if he lived in your neighborhood, the roads would be clear and there would be a plowed pile of snow on your sidewalk... BEFORE you got up to shovel.

Well, on a similar topic minus the plows.
I am luck enough to have a designated parking spot behind my apartment building, however because I live in the city (Toronto) I do not move my car very often.
Next to my spot there is a fenced-in double spot that belongs to the neighboring building. When they shovel out their cars and their micro-lot they simply re-locate the snow just outside the fence, creating a 2-3 foot pile next to my car! So when I go out to clean off my car, and actually take it for a drive, I have to wade through snow up to my knees and cannot even open my car door!

Now that is bad snow-shoveling etiquette!

I know its now about snow ploughs, but you are referring to Snow removal etiquette...thanks for letting me vent...urgh.

my parents have this problem and also a problem with all the sand/salt from previous snowstorms being plowed into their garden along with the snow. The snow melts but the gravel just keeps accumulating. They've given up planting anything other than extremely hardy day lilies in the front of the house because nothing else survives.

We've had plow drivers leave huge berms across our driveway. Very frustrating. I personally think you're lucky. Why? Because at least your street was plowed! We've gone weeks without having our street plowed. Neighbors who do not have 4WD cannot get out.

Snow plows? They never make it into the neighborhoods and only plow the main streets. We are required to shovel our sidewalks within a reasonable time. If a plow came by and pushed 3 ft of snow onto my walk, I'd be pretty mad! As it is, we don't see that kind of accumulation in my part of Colorado. If I'm on a roll, I'll shovel the walks of my neighbors on each side.

well that led to something unexpected.
Really, the snow removal company came back to clear your sidewalk?

Hilarious. Guess what I do when the plow comes and leave a 3-foot lump at the end of my driveway.....at least every couple weeks....for months (Minnesota)? Get my shovel and go outside and shovel it. Duh. Guess he learned a lesson about not shoveling the part that's going to get the plow dump before the plow comes through? Move on, get hardy. ;-)

I'm of a similar opinion to most of the posters here: if it was a municipal plow, it wasn't their fault or problem. If you hired them, they should definitely come deal with your concerns.

In answer to @MJR, in most large cities (NYC and Chicago, that I know for sure) the sidewalk is the responsibility of the property owner, as it is owned by that person(s). The city is responsible for streets only, owners are responsible for alleys and sidewalks, since they're not public property.

It happens to everyone. You have to deal with it. Four important "etiquette" items":

1) shovel 30 inches wide so wheelchairs and strollers can get by

2) shovel out the fire hydrants so you dont have a tragedy on your street

3) Don't shovel it back into the street

4) Choose "rock salt" over chemical "ice melt". Rock salt is more natural, kinder to the earth and less toxic to pets.

Where I live there are usually only sideswalks on one side of residential streets... therefore I bought on the opposite side because everyone knows it's the responsibility of the owner to keep THEIR walk clean.

@crosberg,

Makes sense, considering that there isn't much sidewalk (any?) in Manhattan that isn't sitting directly in front of a building that is owned by someone.

this happens to everyone, multiple times, every winter. no need to complain to the plow, it really isnt his problem. the streets are his problem. i know it sucks, but thats just how it is. next time, try to wait til after the plows to shovel your walkway

I am really surprised you posted about this. Did you grow up in a tropical climate? Was this the first time you or your husband has had the responsibility of dealing with your own snow? I had to clear the 3 feet of snow at the end of our driveway when I was 13. Take it as a free workout and get over it. My dad used to snow removal for the city. Please don't complain at them as they are overworked and are just doing their jobs.

Suck it up, roll up your sleeves and double your efforts.

On our street, there are a couple of neighbours with snow-blowers. They come through, do the most back-breaking part of shoveling, and then the rest of us clear out stairways, paths, and around cars. There are quite a few elderly residents here, so all of us pitch in to make sure they have a clear path to their doors and cars.

There are rewards for our efforts: teamwork and neighbourly bonding, and lovely baked goods from the people we shovel out!

I find it weird when people grouse about snow plows. We all know they are going to block driveways and cover sidewalks. Like someone here said...it's best to consider them a force of nature and just accept it. The only etiquette involved is to smile and wave at the driver doing his job and clear things up again.

In my neighborhood, people tend to be quite generous with the snow clearing by helping out neighbors...especially the elderly. I do it myself...since I'm home all day, I'm the one most likely to catch the city plows going by and to shovel the ends of the driveways (my own and a couple of close neighbors) before it turns into hard solid chunks. If you do this sort of thing, it's best to view it as a cash loan...consider it a gift and repayment to be a bonus. (Personally, I use the snow shovel rather than the big snowblower that my husband favors. It's good exercise and any extra I do for others is to my benefit anyway, so no worries whether they return the favor or now.)

"Have you ever had your home's hand-shoveled sidewalks covered over by street snow removal?"

OMG, are you kidding? Sorry, but your lack of sleep has impaird your judgement.

We just had 20"+ here in the Chicago area, and as is typical (thankfully!) after any snowfall, the plows came through and did their job. That means all that snow gets tossed onto sidewalks and driveways. It's just a fact of life during the winter. You just shovel what they plowed onto your drive back onto the parkways, creating huge mounds. I remember playing in those as a kid.

And we are always grateful when our streets are plowed, especially after a blizzard. Some people I know couldn't get out of their homes for days because the plows never made it to their street! I would never expect a plow driver to come back to my house and clear the snow from my drive.

Now, if I had a neighbor throw his or her snow onto a sidewalk or drive I had just cleared, then yes, there'd be a legitimate complaint. That's just lazy and rude! Luckily, my neighbors are wonderful and would rather help each other out. It was great seeing everyone pitch in on my street and help each other clear drives, move stuck cars, and commiserate about the cable/Internet going out during the storm.

Snow Plow? What's a snow plow? Everyone here looses their mind when it snows and most everything shuts down. It's fantastic.

Love,
Austin, Texas

Yeah, in Atlanta we just stayed home for a week, because failure to plow any street (and with what would they plow it, I might add) made the whole city into an ice skating rink. But I grew up in Minnesota. If you don't understand that this is a "c'est la vie" moment, you're gonna give yourself, and your kid, an ulcer.

i had hoped this post would be about how annoying it is when neighbors don't shovel their sections of sidewalk. snowplows in NYC are a problem, but getting landlords/homeowners/managers to send someone out to clear the snow before midday is always the major problem. oftentimes if they do shovel, they shovel a 2-ft wide stretch which is barely adequate for people to walk down, and it usually gets iced over from melting snow by 8pm. i've taken to shoveling some neighbors' sidewalk spaces in astoria when i wake up after a snow simply because it's easier to get it done before it's trampled down and icy, and it's less stressful than hoping they'll get it done at all. i wish there was a way to enforce the ticketing of these homeowners in the city, but oh well. maybe bloomberg should tackle that next.

That is unfortunate but I'm sure the snow was deep that they were plowing. Exactly where did you expect the plow driver to put the snow other than along side the street? How exactly was he supposed to plow the whole road and not get any up onto the sidewalk? I really would like to hear what you expected the plow do so that he didn't cover your sidewalk. I've lost a bit of respect for your website as a result of this posting.

Ummm ... that's just how plows work. What are you, from Florida or something? I'm picturing the plow driver's befuddlement at your question.

Your only outlet will be participating in the seasonal ranting about the *&^%%$#@ snowplow and the *&^%^%$#@ crap they left in your driveway. It's a time-honored tradition. Where I come from, it's how the kids first learn to swear.

Aside from the snow plow discussion I do have a piece of snow-related etiquette that I would like to share...

If you live in New England with a new roommate who is from Texas and it is the first snow of the year it might be nice to offer your roommate some friendly tips instead of just shoveling your half of the driveway and leaving her to suffer the next day.

I in no way mean to suggest you should shovel her side, but I do suggest that Texas girl might not realize mid-day sun will result in melting and refreezing that will be impossible to shovel if you wait until the next day. This happened to me and the next morning I was fighting desperately to get through the ice pack in my driveway and get to a final exam while my roommate happily pulled out of her shoveled spot and drove off. Would have been nice of her to suggest that I shovel the day before...oh well, I lived and made it to the final after deciding my car probably had enough torque to just drive over the ice!

I'd say this is pretty much par for the course in winter. The plows push the snow into driveways and onto sidewalks, and then the residents have to shovel out the walks and driveways without putting any snow back into the street.

Count your blessings. We currently can't park on the street at all, due to huge snow banks narrowing the streets enough to make getting emergency vehicles down them difficult, and we can't shovel the shared driveway for our apartment building with the cars parked in the driveway. We need to move the cars out to shovel, but there's no legal place to park them within a mile. The town is sending heavy equipment out to haul the snow away, but it seems that my street is one of the last to get the snow removed. Since my car is boxed in by two other tenants' cars, I'm not sure how long it will be before I can drive it again.

In our town the snow plows plow the snow into the middle of the road. Then they sort of blow all the snow into a truck and cart it away. Personally, I would love it if they plowed more than once a winter around here!

We wait until the plow has been by then we shovel--or we shovel and expect to have to go out and clean things up.

My snow removal etiquette gripe is people who don't remove the snow from the top of their cars. Then it goes flying off onto your windshield when they drive in front of you.

Also, people who drive SUVs and pull out of their parking space without shoveling, then pull into a spot that someone else shoveled out when they get back. That is a jerk move.

When my husband was shoveling out our car, he had a building manager say "I know you're not going to put that snow on my sidewalk" - this was immediately after the building manager had COVERED our car with snow from his snow blower. So much for friendly neighbors.

I agree with others, there is really nothing you can do as the street clearing takes precedence over sidewalks, walkways, and cars.

I do wish they would plow closer to the curb on street cleaning days. We can't park on the street since that space is solid snow/ice. It has been like that since the crazy day-after-Christmas blizzard.

As far as general etiquette - it is up to each of us to make sure as we are clearing our own cars, driveway, etc, that we dont creat piles that will hinder the movement of our neighbors. That we can control. The snow plows are out of our control.

This is a time when I am so thankful for building staff. I have lived in snow country for the past 11 years and have yet to lay hands on a snow shovel.
That said, I do wish that the intersections would be cleared better than they are. The sidewalks may be just fine, but crossing the street can be treacherous as small lakes of ice-water hover at every corner.

I live in the country in Wisconsin. I live on a lightly used road with only 3 homes on the entire 3 mile length of it. It is glorious living here!!

The plow (paid for with my tax dollars) comes through here AFTER the more used highways get plowed. This winter so far, that plow has destroyed my mailbox twice. Everyone says I should call and complain and maybe get $$ for my trouble. I have no intention of doing so.

This last snow, with howling winds blowing it into huge drifts, the plow didn't get here until 7 PM. He found the road had been impassible all day. (I wasn't even aware of this--I have a long driveway and no urgent place to go.) The plow person had probably been on the job 14 hours at this point, because our township has only the ONE plow operator. It was too much snow for his dump truck with plow and he had to call someone else who came with and endloader. My mailbox was covered in a drift and it got knocked over in the process. For this I am supposed to call up and bi+ch??

My long driveway is plowed by a person hired by me. It is a minimum of $35 each time he drives one tire of his beautiful hard working truck onto my drive. He has been here 2 days in a row and will have to come again because the wind has blown snow and half filled my driveway again. Would I expect him to come do it for no extra money because the wind messed up all of his work from yesterday? Not a chance.

That is just the way it is. We live where we choose to live. Snow doesn't run down the storm drains--out of sight out of mind-- like rain does. Sit down and think of all the good reasons you live where you do. If you can't think of any, maybe it is time for a change?

My Dad worked for a rural township. Often he was out on weekends in winter and Christmas as well. Such workers don't deserve to be bi+ched at.

I do feel for you and the three foot berm to be dealt with. It's unfortunate that your sidewalk is so close to the street that it creates this issue.

Next house make sure you have a 'hellstrip' - that 3-5 foot strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road. This will reduce the problem to just the driveway and you will be in the same boat as everyone else with snow.

Isn't it crazy making how the flaws of any domicile take time to show up? Stuff you never think of at the time can be a big deal-breaker later.

This post is a bit solipsistic.

Laws of physics dictate that the snow must go somewhere. Would you have cared if it had inadvertently covered your neighbor's yard instead?

Also the street sweeper is going to be more concerned about street safety than individual houses, since that is his duty.

Revisit this post when you've had more sleep. :)

I'm surprised that you're surprised. When a plow comes through, it will plow the snow onto the sidewalk, and in front of the driveway. I'm from New England, and that's just an unfortunate fact of Winter life around here. Where else is the snow supposed to go?
I'm equally surprised that the plow company actually came to remove the snow from your sidewalk! WOW! I have never heard of such a thing.
My biggest issue about snow removal etiquette...Snow on car roofs. Please clear your car before hitting the road. You are putting others in danger!

Yes, it is more common than you know. It pretty much happens to every city in the winter.

From Alberta, Canada here...need to say anything else? ;) There will always be snow thrown on your sidewalk. Just wait for the plower to come, then clean your sidewalk or you will have to do it twice. It sucks what happened to you but as others said, street safety is more important and your sidewalk (unless you live beside an elementary school). I learned it the hard way, as I'm a Brazilian girl living in snowland.

*than* your sidewalk.

I'm sorry that you are dealing with newborn insomnia. I feel for you. I do, however, agree with other posters here that your complaint is not etiquette related. You're frustrated, you needed to vent, but certainly you haven't forgotten how overworked the snow removal people are at this time. I'm blessed at the moment with renting a condo so the association provides snow removal for us. Those men worked for almost 48 hours straight trying to keep our subdivision clean. Did they do a bang up job? No, but they did the best they could and kept as much open space as possible. Did we complain? No, because even though they were getting paid I don't envy them one bit the 48 hours they spent shoveling, trudging through snow, wind whipping it in their faces hour after hour. Nor do I believe their poor family enjoyed the fact that their father, son, brother, uncle, grandfather, mother, sister, aunt, daughter, grandmother were out working that long.

Next time you'll know better, consider it a learning experience, but my goodness - think about the person on the other side as well.

I imagine that the only reason they are coming back out is that they had some sympathy for you as new parents.

Our street is always one of the very last to be plowed, and we never know how many days it will be before it happens. There is no waiting for the plow to come by before you shovel, especially since the postman walks door-to-door. We are lucky enough to have a grass strip between the street and the sidewalk, which prevents the sidewalk from being snowed under, but here are a couple of tips to make the experience better:

1. Get out there and shovel while the snow is new and it's still cold. You don't want to have to deal with ice.
2. Get an ice chipper as well as a snow shovel.
3. Shovel a strip of the curbside before your driveway. This will massively reduce the amount of snow that gets plowed onto your driveway because it will be deposited there instead. Shoveling a few feet of new snow is better than a hardened mound from the plow.

are you kidding me? Unless it is a private snow removal company (IE your HOA hires out snow removal) you really have no room to complain..even then your complaints are sort of ridiculous. It's snow, we all have to dig out and no one likes it. YES it is a pain and YES it sucks when you have to do it twice but come on! What's the guy in the truck supposed to do? Not plow the street in front of your house so as not to disrupt your pre-mature scooping? What solution do you want here? You're wrong.

I've always lived in cities that hardly ever get snow, so there are only a few plows to dig out the major highways and busiest roads when they're coated with ice. In residential neighborhoods and apartment complexes, we just have to chip through the ice on our cars and wait for the sun and, if we're lucky, salt to melt the rest...which can take a long time.

My gripe is property owners who don't touch their sidewalks at all. As a pedestrian, I get infuriated to have to A) walk on a busy street, albeit against traffic, but without any wiggle room between the ice/snow and the cars, or B) walk on the sidewalk that used to have snow on it but now has a slick skating rink on it because someone let the snow melt and re-melt. Last year’s option B was to walk on the sidewalk that had 4 feet of snow piled on it because the two feet that were on the road were plowed onto the two feet that were on the sidewalk to begin with. I mean, really. Do I literally have to hike small mountains of snow and ice to get down the street or to catch a bus? Yeah, the bus stop itself is shoveled (maybe), but how am I supposed to get to the bus stop in the first place? Where, exactly, is it that I am supposed to walk without getting hurt if people don't take care of the sidewalks?? I can't just not go to work or wherever it is I need to go just because I don't have a car! I can understand to a certain extent that some folks may not have the ability to shovel in front of their residences, but if this weather happens every winter, then why not plan ahead to have someone take care of it for you? It’s not like we don’t know about these storms in advance. People who can’t cut their grass generally have someone come and cut it for them, so why not apply the same concept to snow removal? Really, though, I find that the biggest perpetrators of this are businesses who have the manpower and just never bother. Argh.

OK, I'm venting. Sorry. :-|

We have a two-day dig out process in my house (though lately, it's been a three day process).

Day 1: We do our driveway off the alley so my car can get in and out without trouble (provided the post office down the street doesn't plow the alley - though we shovel that too to make sure the lump isn't too unmanageable). We also do our sidewalks to the back door (from the alley) and the front and side sidewalks going from our house to the street.

Day 2 - after the plows have come, we get our sidewalk and our street parking (gotta love living with roommates... made a deal that we'll park in back if we dig her a spot, but did not expect record snowfall!)

Day 3 - if we were too sore and exhausted to dig out the spot on the street, we get it on day 3. If it's really bad, we'll dig my car out of the driveway. If it's that bad, I don't drive and put it off.

My only real gripe is when the gas station next door pushes their snow onto my sidewalk (we complained to the city, and they had to dig us out our sidewalk for 2 weeks), or pushes the snow from their parking lot over the fence, or the one day they pushed it in front of the alley to screw over two blocks of neighbors (that was part of the complaint).

My husband hates that the post office plows the alley, but I love it. It makes driving RWD so much easier in the tons of snow!

Get cherry and blueberry syrup and make snow cones before the plows come. Then leave them out and let the neighborhood kids eat the snow. Problem solved. :)

I honestly don't understand how proper street clearing by plows has anything to do with etiquette. A neighbor snowblowing his snow onto your driveway or sidewalk, neighbors dumping their snow directly in the street, cars left on your street to get in the way of plows and hamper street clearing - absolutely matters of poor etiquette. But it is a widely accepted fact that plows will leave snow on your curb, sidewalk or drive because it simply has to go somewhere. It's not fun to clean up, but is really no one's fault.

This seems like the perfect time to say something that I see far too much on AT. "Keep calm and carry on!"

I've never heard of a company coming back to do sidewalks- it must be a private company? I'm in the "snow plows are forces of nature" camp. I need them to clear the streets, and right now, considering that most streets are reduced to 1/2 their normal width, I'll contend with crummy side walks if it means the streets are a little clearer. It's just one of those dumb winter things hat makes me swear to move South.

The real etiquette issues are the things (unlike plow trucks) that we and our neighbors do have control over. Like the sidewalks that don't get cleared at all because someone assumes it's someone else's responsibility. Or the people who park on top of crosswalks because it's the only place the snowbank can be traversed. Or the cars left on the street overnight against the rules, causing the snowbank removal machines to pass your street by altogether. I don't hate snow. I just hate lazy.

I was kind of hoping this would be a post on snow removal etiquette because I'm always wondering what the proper etiquette is! I always to my sidewalk all the way to the corner and my driveway. My neighbor on the right does not live there during the winter, am I supposed to shovel his sidewalk too? I don't because I'm the only person in my household and I'm exhausted by the time I'm done.

Also, funny story kind of. My other neighbor complained when I put up a fence last summer (a legal fence that was the appropriate distance from her property line). She complained because now she was going to have nowhere to put her snow. Ugh.

As far as the plow goes, I always expect the end of my driveway to be the hardest part to shovel because of the plow. It's just a fact of life.

My gripe- those who don't shovel. At all! Then it turns into ice and dangerous. The other night, I opted to walk down the street at night (granted, it was a city side street but still!!!). It was safer to walk in the street then trying to not slip and fall on the sidewalks that were not shoveled at all or only with a foot wide path that was never salted. I wanted to write a tell off note and leave it on every single door. But, it seems to be everywhere. And we are talking city rowhomes, they don't have much to shovel!!!

Snowplows are a part of life. It sucks that you had to re-clean it, but it's the only way they can get the job done. When you said etiquette, I thought you meant in regards to neighbours.

I live in one of the most population-dense neighbourhoods in all of North America. Duplexes and triplexes abound with narrow sidewalks and streets to contend with.

I have three instances of poor etiquette for you....

A few times, people have shovelled out their cars, carried the filthy, garbage-y snow across the sidewalk and dumped it into our fenced-in yard. You can bet that that snow will end up right back where it started. Especially if said culprit's car is still there. (Most people tend to make neat piles behind or in front of the car, or scatter it in the street so snow plows can pick it up when they go by).

Our middle-floor neighbours also has a recurring problem with both their upstairs and downstairs neighbours. They share a walkway and the other two apartments do not clear it at all. The top-floor neighbour will not clear the front stairs or balcony, either. Then, to add insult to injury, she'll clear off her back balcony and dump all the snow onto the middle floor's meticulously cleaned terrace.

I also had a friend who shared a balcony with a semi-detached neighbour. My friend would clear the snow on occasion (her busy schedule, permitting), but she would clear ALL of it. The balcony, the walk, everything. Whenever her neighbours did it, they would clear exactly their half of the walkway and exactly their half of the balcony, leaving my friend to clean the rest.

I live in a very snowy area and it happens, frankly I'm surprised they agreed to do anything!

we have this issue too, and to make matters worse we get fined by our HOA if our sidewalks aren't cleared in a "timely" manner. my husband is at work close to 16 hours a day (long commute) and i have a very hyper 1 year old who doesn't like the snow, so i feel your pain. i usually dont get out to shovel the snow until mid afternoon, many hours after my neighbors finished.
i read some of these comments and i wonder if my neighbors think im lazy too.
im not lazy, just overwhelmed.

but i also agree with a lot of others, its just a part of having clear, safe, roads.

Maybe ten years ago, I read an article on mantras - things you say to yourself to calm yourself down. The one that really stuck with me was: "They're doing the best they can" when you are feeling yourself getting annoyed at someone. Even if they should be doing better (perhaps) this is their best. It is indeed calming, and if the person really is being a pisser, you basically get to pass judgment on them in a way that doesn't get you riled up! I personally am just considering all the shoveling good, free exercise.

I was expecting this post to be about visitors tracking snow into your home! With a handy shopping guide for chic mudroom accessories, of course…

If this is really going to get your goat, I recommend moving to somewhere without snow in the winter.

Plow mess on the sidewalks and the entrance to the driveway are part of the deal... Sorry about the sleep deprivation, though.

I live in Queens, NY, so the city plows my street. They usually plow to the curb, never had a problem with my sidewalk. Of course when they plow that is. Everyone has some sort of problem with snow removal, such is life. Congratulations on your new addition by the way.

Snow removal etiquette means you wave at the plow guy who has been out there for many, many consecutive hours trying to clear the streets so you can get out of your neighborhood.

One tip you may find that helps for the next snow storm...

The snowplow always goes down the same side of the street. Facing your house, pile up the snow from your driveway on the left of your driveway where it will be pushed away. If you leave a large pile on the right, it will inevitably end up in your driveway.

It's tricky when one lives at an apartment and shares a parking lot with others, too. Plows can only clear the path and contiguous empty parking spaces. It's hard to tell whose car is whose, so often times you'll see a bunch of empty spaces and then some where the plow couldn't do as good a job because someone's car is parked there.

I'm still trying to figure out a way to prevent my car from getting trapped in 3-foot walls of snow/ice. I just had to dig it out earlier this evening, and at this point all the snow had hardened and a thick layer of ice had formed in some places. Guess this is more incentive to skip the bus every once in a while and drive somewhere?

I bet the snow plow driver gets less sleep then you do...

What you are asking for is a snow vaporizer, not a snow plow. I grew up in Mass where the drifts would literally cover the entire front door. You should get cracking on a patent...

@lola4456....Lol!!

Just spit-balling here, but is there something one could do in anticipation of the snow plow (or for that matter, the snow itself) to keep the path clear?

Possibly some sort of temporary barrier that can be put up quickly (a walk-through tent made of painters' tarps, e.g.) ?

Yep. Everybody is right -- snowplows have the right of way: making it possible for cars (and things like firetrucks and ambulances) to get through is the civic priority.

Around here, it is the homeowner's legal responsibility to make sure public sidewalks in front of their houses are cleared. Also, we don't get mail if the mailbox is not accessible. (Missed two days so far when our plow service left too much out there and we didn't shovel.)

I live on a cul-de-sac which is considered a private road by the city. Even though we pay the exact same property taxes as everyone else, we (the HOA) have to pay separately for private garbage removal and plowing that others get from the city. The small advantage to this is we can contact the company with which we contract for additional cleanup. But we try to remain reasonable, since this is an AWFUL year, and their fee is negotiated annually -- I'm pretty sure some shrubbery under the mountains of snow that have been plowed onto the lawn won't make it, maybe even the birch tree I planted last year. The mailbox was bashed twice, the PVC post cover holding it up is in shreds.

This is just winter in New England. Some seasons are better, some worse.

When I get home from work today, we need to shovel the buried sidewalk along the garage, so we can take the garbage bin to the curb. Ain't winter FUN!?

totally get the frustration! my husband travels so much that it's me that does the shoveling. fine... my street is plowed... but does he have to keep knocking down every damn mailbox on the street? i mean, they are all set back at the same approved distance and still, every week, everyone on it's side (ripped from it's granite post!). a completely understand the person who is frustrated with people who don't clean off the cars. that is a MUST.

On the street my friend lives on near Chicago, someone abandoned their car in the middle of the street (there were legally parked cars on either side of it, of course) when they got stuck during the early parts of the blizzard. It continued to snow (inches turned to feet), and that car was still there when the plows came through.

So, because of that person leaving their car behind (instead of calling a tow truck), the plows avoided that street. Everyone was stuck.

THAT is rude. The poor plow people couldn't do anything with the car in the way, and no one on that street could leave their neighborhood for days (the city tow truck couldn't reach it because of the unplowed street), all because one idiot decided it'd be easier to leave his car there instead of doing something about it when he had the chance.

Compared to that, having to shovel again is annoying but nothing to get your britches in a bunch for.

Snow removal sucks, but if it snows where you live, you've just gotta suck it up and deal with it - or rent and hope that your landlord is responsible for snow and then actually fulfills that responsibility. Sorry.