East Aurora’s snowy sidewalks are getting a bit cleaner a bit earlier these days— before six inches of snow or more piles up.

The village has tightened its policy for sidewalk snow removal toward the later part of this winter season, mandating removal when three to four inches pile up, which is a change from its previous six-inch policy.

Some residents had begun to complain of difficulty navigating the sidewalks in a village known for being a walkable community and with two schools in the village with many walking students.

The recent change evolved after Mayor Allan Kasprzak criticized some commercial and residential property owners for not helping to keep their sidewalks clear for pedestrians. He has termed it widespread neglect and included private plowing contractors in his criticism for piling snow on other people’s property when they’re clearing driveways.

Last week, though, Kasprzak said sidewalk snow clearing has begun to improve. While plowing streets remains the top priority, Public Works Director Matt Hoeh said the village’s sole sidewalk plow is now trying to clear the sidewalks when they have three to four inches of snow accumulated instead of waiting until they have six inches or more.

The sidewalk plowing is an ambitious task. East Aurora has one sidewalk plow and navigates 54 miles of sidewalks throughout the village.

The village’s tightened sidewalk snowplowing policy didn’t go as far as Trustee Libby Weberg proposed in early February, but it’s an improvement. Weberg had asked for a two-inch plowing policy.

“Clear sidewalks are a fairness issue,” Weberg wrote in a recent e-mail to the Village Board. “Not everyone owns cars, and many people choose to walk to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels or for exercise and enjoyment. People who don’t drive pay taxes to maintain our roadways. We owe it to all our residents to provide clear routes of transportation.”

Weberg, a proponent of touting East Aurora as a walkable community, underscored that point and said sidewalk snowplowing is not a frill, but a core municipal function. She said she did not want to see quibbling over the amount of snow on the ground, but to see the village commit to getting its sidewalk plow out.

“Walkability is our brand. That’s how we market ourselves,” she said. “People chose to live here for that reason.”

Gary Grote, head of the Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce, and others acknowledged that ticketing by police to enforce the village code has not worked with violators in the past.

“I know the village enforcement is tough. Ticketing is something you really don’t want to do,” Grote said, noting that some businesses have changed owners and not all are locally owned.

Kasprzak said word of mouth and help from village youth — including the Boy Scouts and the Boys and Girls Club — all will help the cause. “We want to see if we can target houses owned by seniors, so we can help them out,” he said.

“We need it to be a group effort if the plow has not been by yet,” Weberg said.

As the village looks to more community help in keeping its sidewalks clear, officials say they hope there will be a synergy to keep it going.

krobinson@buffnews.comnull