Where can we walk safely in the suburbs?

You've seen them — kids lugging school backpacks and trudging down the middle of the street because the sidewalks are inaccessible. Commuters heading home from the station, briefcases in hand, stepping gingerly around parked cars. Joggers and dogwalkers dodging moving vehicles.

When sidewalks are impassable, it's not safe for anyone. But how much can you expect from residents and businesses faced with more than 20 inches of snow to remove?

Most suburbs don't require residents and businesses to clear their public sidewalks. Palatine, Elgin, Libertyville and Itasca, among others, can only hope residents will shovel their own sidewalks — and perhaps their neighbors'.

But some suburbs wanting pedestrians off the roadways are requiring residents and businesses to clear sidewalks, or risk fines.

Wheeling sent out inspectors Tuesday to find sidewalks still submerged in snow, starting with school routes and bus stops. Warning citations were issued, but $25 fines will follow for people who don't clean their walks.

Wheeling Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said inspectors give people the names of businesses and service organizations that do snow removal, sometimes for free.

“We rely a lot on the community to police itself and more importantly to help each other,” Sfondilis said. “But this isn't an aesthetic problem; it's a communitywide safety issue.”

West Dundee has the power to fine a business or resident if a sidewalk isn't cleared within 48 hours of snowfall, but the ordinance hasn't been enforced for more than 20 years. Violators instead get a reminder in the mail.

While West Dundee Village Manager Joe Cavallaro described residential sidewalks as pretty clear, walks along the main roads are a huge challenge.

“The sheer volume of the snow along (routes) 31 and 72 makes these sidewalks really unusable,” he said. “There's no physical way to move that snow.”

Public works departments often tackle sidewalks in downtown areas or along routes kids take to school. But that's only after crews are finished plowing roads, clearing business districts and improving intersection visibility, all of which is taking longer this time.

“It's just a monumental task,” Algonquin Public Works Director Robert Mitchard said of clearing miles of village sidewalks, adding that more recent snowfalls have diverted crews from the cleanup job.

Elgin's sidewalks are largely still in poor shape, Public Services Director David Lawry said.

“When you get 20 inches plus and windrows and drifting, people, I think, are more apt to ignore the common-sense approach, which would be to shovel,” Lawry said.

Schaumburg requires businesses to clear parking areas and paths, all of which were inspected Friday and over the weekend. Those still covered were contacted Monday and will eventually receive written warnings followed by $100 fines, Schaumburg Community Development Director Julie Summers said.

“Everyone needs time to recover from this one,” Summers said. “We're being reasonable in terms of giving them a time frame to comply.”

Most officials agreed the number of unshoveled properties is up from past years, not just because of the volume of snow but also because of the growing number under foreclosure.

For Palatine, debate has raged for years over whether to require property owners to clear their sidewalks.

“The last thing we want to do is encourage people to walk in the streets, but shoveling can be a big burden for a lot of seniors and the sick,” said Jack Wagner, Palatine's longest-serving council member. “And it can be expensive to hire someone.”

Itasca last year decided against an ordinance, also citing the burden it would place on the elderly and sick, Police Chief Scott Heher said.

But some officials say the safety concerns for pedestrians and motorists outweigh that burden.

Ÿ Daily Herald staff writers Elena Ferrarin, Mick Zawislak, Beth Mistretta, Lenore Adkins and Tara Mathewson Garcia contributed to this report.

Walking: If anything, warnings to shovel go out before fines