How Denver Keeps You Safe in the Snow
The City of Denver boasts their snow maintenance measures as some of the best. That may or may not seem true to you. Let’s explore what their process currently involved and how Denver keeps you safe in the snow.
Snow-Save Bike Lanes
Did you know that the City has special plows for bike lanes? Us, either. In fact, it often seems that the bike lanes are hand places to deposit snow pushed off the roadways. However, city officials told The Denver Channel in a recent interview that there are two special plows owned by the city that are specifically used for clearing protected bike lanes. The City claims these lanes are plowed at the same frequency as main streets. A simple walk around the neighborhood with your fur babies shows exactly how little we know about the city ordinances related to snow maintenance on our own property. According to the City, homeowners have 24 hours to clear their sidewalks after a snowstorm. Businesses have a much shorter term of 4 hours from the end of the snowfall. The City also claims to have two inspectors canvassing 3,000 miles of city sidewalks to make sure home and business owners have complied. If you spot any offenders, the City urges you to call 3-1-1 to report the icy walkway.
How Denver Keeps You Safe in the Snow
We get many calls from severely injured folks due to falls on snow and ice. We have seen fractured backs, torn rotator cuffs, limb fractures, and head trauma due to these falls. And in most cases, these falls occur even though the pedestrian was extremely cautious. Some have happened exiting their apartment buildings, walking into their workplaces, or entering businesses. And in each of the cases in which we have represented the injured, there was a failure on the part of the business to adequately remediate the snow and ice in places most commonly traveled by customers and tenants. Denver has very strict rules when it comes to snow remediation, as does state law. Colorado courts have determined that businesses must watch for snow and ice dangers in the weather, shovel, plow, and lay ice melt materials to further protect the public. The law does not remove the onus on pedestrians to be aware of dangers and protect themselves. However, businesses are in the best position to protect pedestrians from injury. Denver’s requirements help keep you safe in the snow.
What You Can Do To Help
As the City requests, in order to protect yourself and others from serious injury, simply dial 3-1-1 if you see a home or business not complying with the city ordinances and state law. You will not only help keep the community safe, but you will also save the homeowner and business from having to contact their insurance company to report the injuries their negligence caused. And as we always implore, please be aware of elderly and disabled neighbors. They may not be able to protect others, or themselves, from injury by shoveling snow and laying snow melt. Also consider your neighbors with strollers, postal workers, and those nice folks that deliver your Amazon packages. Let’s do what we can to help avoid injuries in our community. At the end of the day, absolute prevention is the only real way to ensure safety.