Yes, it’s a chore we all hate, but if you don’t remove the snow and ice from your sidewalk within 24 hours of its accumulation, you could end up doing something you hate a lot more: writing a very big check. The cost for violating any of Mt. Lebanon’s codes has gone up—residents can now expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $1,000 based on how many offenses they have accrued (and each day you are in violation can count as a separate offense).

Anytime there is an accumulation of snow or ice of one inch or more, it must be removed from public walkways within 24 hours. This holds true for houses, apartments and even vacant buildings. Business owners must clear their sidewalks within four hours of accumulation between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays.

In addition, in the 24-hour period after a snowfall of one inch or more, there is no on-street parking between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. to allow snowplows and ice trucks the room they need to clear streets. When shoveling your driveway, please pile the snow to the left of the driveway (as you look at it) so the snowplow will not re-bury your driveway’s entrance.

While shoveling, be careful not to cover any fire hydrant with snow. Each of Mt. Lebanon’s 450 fire hydrants has been equipped with a four-foot-tall reflective marker that helps firefighters find it quickly at night and in the snow, but if the marker is covered with snow, it’s not going to help anyone (and you really don’t want the fire department spending time searching for a hydrant when your house is on fire.) If the marker is missing or broken, call the fire department at 412-343-3402 to have a new one installed.