Bristol, PA Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Section 21-242 of the Bristol Borough Code puts the duty on every person in charge or control of a building or lot of land fronting or abutting a paved sidewalk, whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee or otherwise. That person must remove and clear away, or cause to be removed or cleared away, snow and ice from a path at least 36 inches wide on the part of the sidewalk in front of or abutting the building or lot. The duty is not limited to owners, so a tenant or occupant in charge of the premises is covered along with the landlord.

The deadline is 12 hours after the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain. Where snow or ice has become so hard that it cannot be removed without likelihood of damage to the sidewalk, the person charged must, within that same period, put enough sand or other abrasive on the sidewalk to make travel reasonably safe. As soon thereafter as weather permits, a path at least 36 inches wide must then be cleared.

The Code defines the sidewalk as the portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a cartway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for use by pedestrians (§ 21-241). Roofs are covered too. Under § 21-243, every person in charge of a building or other structure must clear any accumulation of snow and ice liable to fall on a sidewalk, roadway or other public way, within a reasonable time but not later than 12 hours after the snow, sleet or freezing rain stops.

Section 21-244 limits where cleared snow goes: it cannot be deposited on or immediately next to a fire hydrant or on any sidewalk, roadway, or loading and unloading area of a public transportation system. The Borough itself can mound snow on public cartways while cleaning them, and on curbs while clearing sidewalks in business districts.