Local News

Which Boston neighborhood has the most unshoveled sidewalks?

The city’s non-emergency service line received more than 4,000 reports of icy and unshoveled sidewalks between Jan. 1 and Feb. 19.

This winter's below-average temperatures and ice melt shortages have resulted in lots of icy and unshoveled sidewalks. David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe

By Darin Zullo

February 27, 2025

4 minutes to read

With another frigid Boston winter bringing blankets of snow and leaving sheets of ice behind, no one can blame you if your patience has frozen over. This winter’s 311 is Boston’s constituent services line for reporting non-emergency issues to the Boston a message on X.

This season has already seen its fair share of snow and ice, and with it has come a mountain of requests. Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 19, a whopping 4,217 service requests for uncleared sidewalks were created within Boston’s 311 system.

Publicly available data about 2020 census data.

Unshoveled Sidewalks by Neighborhood (Jan. 1-Feb. 19)

Neighborhood	Population (2020)	Requests
Allston	24,904	229
Back Bay	18,190	108
Beacon Hill	9,336	66
Brighton	52,047	517
Charlestown	19,120	178
Chinatown	6,211	6
Dorchester	122,191	691
Downtown/Financial District	13,768	115
East Boston	43,066	301
Fenway/Kenmore/Longwood	42,679	83
Hyde Park	34,172	100
Jamaica Plain	40,015	426
Mattapan	23,840	103
Mission Hill	17,518	70
North End	10,805	67
Roslindale	29,586	142
Roxbury	54,533	209
South Boston/Seaport District	43,496	521
South End	30,904	176
West Roxbury	31,561	158

What are the rules around shoveling sidewalks in Boston?

City workers are responsible for plowing and sanding all public ways, but residents and business owners are responsible for clearing snow, sleet, and ice from sidewalks and curb ramps along their property line. In multi-family homes and apartment complexes, renters are often guide to rules around snow removal. Property owners must also ensure that the path they clear is at least 42 inches wide for people using wheelchairs and strollers, the guide says.

“Simply put, we’re looking for an accessible path of travel,” the city says in the rule guide. “While the rule is three hours, we try to be reasonable for deciding when we start the clock. Our goal isn’t to fine you. We just want people — especially youth and seniors — to be able to get around safely.”

The city also has ordinances against pushing snow and ice into the street or another sidewalk. Depending on the type of property and the amount of snow, property owners who do so can be fined an additional $50 to $200 per day, according to the city’s guide.

Which properties get the most complaints about snow on sidewalks?

The 311 data include the results of the Public Works Department’s investigations into each request. For public properties, the city clears the reported area and marks the request as completed. For private properties, the city issues citations for areas that are unshoveled or unsalted.

Usually, the city sends someone out to check on the sidewalk within 48 hours, 311 data shows. Sometimes, the completed request notes that the reported sidewalk was cleared by the time a city worker arrived.

But which addresses have been reported the most?

Across the 3,167 locations where service requests were placed for uncleared sidewalks between Jan. 1 and Feb. 19, 619 of them were the subject of multiple complaints. Forty-five of those places were the subject of five or more complaints. Among the top 15 locations overall, there were five public addresses and 10 private addresses. Four of the five public addresses were at intersections in Brighton, Charlestown, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury, and the other was Boston’s very own City Hall Plaza.

Top Repeated Addresses (Jan. 1-Feb. 19)

Address	Neighborhood	Requests
Private address on K Street	South Boston	16
Intersection of Soldiers Field Place and Soldiers Field Road	Brighton	15
Private address on North Washington Street	Downtown	13
Intersection of Washington Street and Arborway	Jamaica Plain	8
Intersection of Cambridge Street and Interstate 93 South	Charlestown	8
Private address on K Street	South Boston	8
Private address on D Street	South Boston	8
1 City Hall Plaza	Downtown	8
Intersection of Southampton Street and Cummings Street	Roxbury	7
Private address on Gordon Street	Allston	7
Private address on Hyde Park Avenue	Jamaica Plain	7
Private address on West Second Street	South Boston	7
Private address on Chelsea Street	East Boston	7
Private address on North Beacon Street	Allston	7
Private address on Maverick Street	East Boston	7