Sidewalk and walkway clearing
The driveway is where the car sits. The walk is where somebody falls — and it is the surface most contractors treat as an afterthought to the plowing.
- Cleared full width to the concrete, not a path down the middle
- Steps by hand with traction material, handrails cleared not buried
- Sterling Heights and Macomb Township both run 24-hour ordinances
A plow truck cannot clear a four-foot walk. That work happens with a shovel, a snowblower or a walk-behind machine, by a person, and it takes longer per square foot than the entire driveway does.
That labor cost is exactly why so many contractors quietly do it badly: one pass down the middle, leaving a compacted strip that glazes into a sheet of ice by the second freeze.
Full width, down to the surface
We clear walks to their full width and down to the concrete. A narrow center path is worse than useless — it concentrates foot traffic onto packed snow, which compacts further, glazes, and becomes the most dangerous surface on the property.
Packed snow cannot be salted away efficiently either. De-icers work on ice and thin snow, not on a compacted three-inch layer, so the shortcut on day one guarantees a larger problem in week three.
The ordinances that actually apply
Several Macomb County communities place responsibility for clearing the public sidewalk fronting a property on the adjacent owner or occupant, with a stated deadline after snowfall ends.
Sterling Heights requires removal within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall, and the ordinance applies to sidewalks on all sides of a home or business including those along major and connector roads. Macomb Township also requires removal within 24 hours of a snow or ice event. Michigan law more broadly contemplates removal within a reasonable period, generally discussed as 48 hours, allowing for ongoing weather and the property owner's physical condition.
We are not your attorney. Requirements differ by community and they do change, so confirm your own municipality's current ordinance rather than relying on any contractor's summary — including this one. What we will do is clear on a schedule that comfortably beats the common 24-hour timelines. Commercial owners in particular should verify rather than assume.
Steps, thresholds and handrails
Steps are where falls actually happen and they are the hardest thing to clear well. Snow compacts into the tread nosing, meltwater runs down and refreezes at the bottom step, and a shovel cannot reach the corners.
Steps get hand attention and traction material as standard. If you have a handrail, tell us — we clear around it rather than burying it, because a rail packed in snow is a rail nobody can grab.
The north-facing walk problem
On any property in this county the walk on the north side of the house is a different surface from the one on the south. It gets little or no direct winter sun, so meltwater from the roof and from partial daytime thaw refreezes there and stays.
Those walks need more attention and frequently need traction material even after clearing. We flag them during the pre-season walk and treat them as their own item rather than assuming one pass handles the whole property.
What we will not do
We do not go on roofs and we do not remove ice dams. If meltwater runs off your roof and refreezes across a walk repeatedly, the cause is heat escaping into the attic and melting the underside of the snowpack. The fix is insulation and ventilation work by a roofing or insulation contractor, not more salt on the walk below. We will point out the pattern when we see it, because the walk is where it shows up first.
Questions people actually ask
Am I responsible for the public sidewalk in front of my house?
In several Macomb County communities, yes. Sterling Heights requires clearing within 24 hours of the end of a snowfall, on all sides of the property including along major roads. Macomb Township also requires removal within 24 hours of a snow or ice event. Requirements vary and change, so verify your own municipality rather than relying on a contractor's summary.
Is walk clearing included with driveway service?
The front walk to the door and a path to the mailbox are included in standard residential service. Side walks, rear walks, patios and public sidewalk frontage are quoted as add-ons because they are meaningful additional labor — sidewalk frontage adds about 200 square feet to the measurement.
Why does one walk always ice over when the others do not?
It almost certainly faces north. Without direct winter sun it never fully dries, so meltwater refreezes and stays. If the ice appears specifically under a roof edge, the cause is more likely heat loss through the attic than the walk itself.
Do you clear steps?
Yes, by hand, with traction material. Steps are where most falls happen and they are the hardest surface to clear properly. Tell us about handrails so we clear around them instead of burying them.
Can you remove ice dams?
No. Ice dams are a roof and attic problem — heat escaping into the attic melts the underside of the snowpack and the water refreezes at the cold eave. Chipping at them damages shingles and gutters. The real fix is insulation and ventilation.
Will you salt my walk?
Only when it will work and only where it will not cause harm. On concrete under a year old we use sand for traction instead. Which product goes down matters more than how much of it does.
Sidewalk & Walkway Clearing across Macomb County
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