Mayor Asks Bostonians to Snitch on Snow Shoveling Scofflaws

He said anyone who shovels snow into the street will be issued a ticket

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is urging residents to take photographs and report anyone who shovels snow into the sidewalk.

"If you put snow into the street or if you don't shovel your sidewalk, you're getting a ticket," Walsh said during a Tuesday morning press conference focusing on the city's snow removal efforts.

He said city inspectors will be out in the city looking for scofflaws, and he asked residents to photograph anyone they see shoveling snow into the streets and send the picture to the city using the Citizens Connect app. They can also tweet at @citizensconnect, call 617-635-4500 or visit http://cityofboston.gov/snow.

Walsh said schools will reopen on Wednesday in Boston, and the New England Patriots Victory Parade will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

He said the city's snow parking ban will remain in effect through 6 p.m. Tuesday to allow for additional snow removal.

"We have snow of historic proportion in the City of Boston," Walsh said. "We've gotten more snow than the Blizzard of '78. To see that the city is up and running so quickly show you how snow removal has changed."

He said 6,000 truckloads of snow were removed last week, and if the snow continues as forecasted, he said the city will blow through it's $18 million snow removal budget.

"We're asking people to be patient," Walsh said. "We're getting calls about streets now being plowed. It's gonna be a while before people see what you want to see out in the community."

In addition to shoveling sidewalks, the mayor said residents and business owners can help out by shoveling out fire hydrants and wheelchair ramps.

Walsh cautioned people to be sure to shovel out dryer vents and car exhaust pipes, noting that two homes were evacuated on Monday night due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

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