Who has to shovel the sidewalk in Macomb County?

What the ordinances say

Sterling Heights requires snow and ice to be removed from sidewalks within 24 hours of the conclusion of a snowfall. The requirement applies to sidewalks on all sides of a home or business, including those running along major roads and connector roads — which catches a lot of corner-lot owners by surprise.

Macomb Township requires property owners to remove snow or ice from public sidewalks within 24 hours of a snow or ice event.

Michigan law more broadly contemplates removal within a reasonable period after a snowfall — commonly discussed as 48 hours — while allowing for ongoing weather and the property owner's physical ability.

What the published requirements look like

Sidewalk deadlines in other Macomb County communities

We checked each community's own website or code of ordinances in October 2026. These are the published sidewalk rules; each community's snow removal page on this site links its source.

Why the corner lot catches people

A mid-block house has one stretch of sidewalk. A corner lot has two, and the second one frequently runs along a busier road where the municipal plow throws slush back onto it after you have cleared it.

That is the most common sidewalk complaint we hear, and it is genuinely frustrating: the walk was clear, then a plow passed. Nobody's ordinance accounts for it elegantly, and practically it means corner lots need checking twice during a long event.

The part that actually matters

Municipal enforcement is usually a notice and, at worst, the city clearing the walk and billing you. That is the small exposure.

The larger one is civil. If someone falls on a walk you were responsible for, the question becomes what you did and when. Michigan premises liability is fact-specific and we are not qualified to tell you how it applies to you — but we can tell you that a walk cleared to the concrete, and some record of when, is a better position than an icy one and no record.

If you own commercial property, this is a conversation to have with your insurer before the season rather than after an incident. Commercial sites are also why we keep timestamped service logs — see commercial snow and ice.

How to clear a walk so it stays clear

• Full width, to the concrete. A narrow path concentrates foot traffic onto packed snow, which glazes into the most dangerous surface on the property and cannot then be salted away efficiently.
• Before it gets walked on. Once snow is compacted by footsteps it takes far more effort and more material to deal with.
• Steps by hand, with traction material. Steps are where falls actually happen, and meltwater refreezes at the bottom step.
• Watch the north side. A north-facing walk gets no direct winter sun, never fully dries, and refreezes reliably. It needs more attention than the totals suggest.
• Sand on new concrete. Concrete under a year old should not get chloride at all.

If you cannot do it yourself

Sidewalk frontage is an add-on of roughly 200 square feet on our measurement, and porch and steps about 60. Add them on the calculator to see what your total per-visit price becomes.

We clear full width to the concrete and hand-finish the steps, because a walk cleared badly is worse than one not cleared at all.