Snow-Covered Sidewalks Can Leave East Lansing Residents With Disabilities Facing Barriers and Fines

For many, snow storms can bring a monotonous afternoon of shoveling. But for people with disabilities, large storms can snowball into a financial burden and social isolation. 

Most cities have local rules for snow and ice removal. In East Lansing, not shoveling sidewalks adjacent to a home can lead to $110 in fines for each day sidewalks go uncleared. 

Under the city’s ordinance, major snow events that accumulate before noon must be cleared by midnight on the same day. If snow accumulates after noon, it must be removed by midnight of the following day. 

If snow showers last longer than one consecutive day, sidewalks must be cleared within the same guidelines as any other major snow event or within 48 hours after the first snowfall, whichever is sooner. Ice should be cleared within 12 hours of formation, or an abrasive, like sand or salt, should be applied. 

While clearing sidewalks is essential to ensure people with mobility challenges can get around, shoveling near their own homes can be a tall task for some residents with disabilities.

“More and more [people with disabilities] aren’t able to get help from friends, family, or neighbors because they’re so isolated,” said Shae Babcock, information and referral specialist at the Disability Network Capital Area. “A lot of people with disabilities become trapped in their homes in the winter, and then they’re fined on top of it.” 

Through Dec. 3, the East Lansing Police Department issued 25 citations for failing to remove snow from sidewalks in 2025, according to the results of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Laura Hall, program director at Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, has used a power wheelchair for 25 years and relies on her roommate to shovel their property. Hall’s mobility is limited in the winter because her power wheelchair can get stuck in as little as two or three inches of snow.

“I was coming back home from Frandor on a sidewalk that hadn’t been plowed very well, and I got stuck right in the middle of the sidewalk. I just had to wait in the cold until someone got close so I could yell and get their attention…that was very scary,” Hall said. 

Getting stuck in the snow is one of many battles folks with disabilities face in the winter. Another is plows dumping snow in places wheelchair users rely on, such as parking access aisles adjacent to accessible parking spaces.

Disability Rights Michigan Supervising Attorney Anastassia Kolosova said two main rights are guaranteed under the Americans with Disabilities Act related to snow and ice removal – accessible parking and accessible entrances to businesses and to state and local government entities. 

Accessible parking must remain available even when it snows. This includes the typically overlooked access aisles, curb cutouts, and sidewalk all the way from the parking lot to the entrance of the building. 

“Individuals who use wheelchairs can not navigate out of their vehicle and onto the sidewalk without those access aisles, so they are a critical part of accessible parking,” Kolosova said. 

According to the East Lansing snow and ice removal ordinance, property owners who aren’t physically able to shovel snow are still responsible for clearing it. That responsibility is typically remedied by hiring a snow removal service, which carries a financial burden.

The ordinance mentions that the city can abate snow for someone who can’t plow it on their property, but “the Department of Public Works usually charges quite a bit more money,” East Lansing Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Adrian Ojerio said. 

“In the disability community, far fewer people are able to work, so people with disabilities are living in poverty,” Hall said. “When I hear that response, it’s a little frustrating because I feel like it’s based on your ability to pay to get that done, and not everyone has an equal opportunity to have that.”

The Disability Network Capital Area offers a program called Snow Sergeants, where volunteers shovel the snow for people with disabilities. But due to funding cuts, they have been forced to turn people away this year. 

“We’ve easily gotten 30 calls since the beginning of October and, unfortunately, we had to select the 10 people who needed it the absolute most,” Babcock said. 

There aren’t other programs similar to Snow Sergeants in the area, Babcock added.

People who have faced challenges with accessible parking at a particular business can complain directly to the owner or manager, file a complaint to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) and the Department of Justice, or reach out to the city. Nicole Evans is the court administrator/ADA coordinator at the 54B District Court. 

“It’s really important to share these stories of individuals who were prevented from accessing something important,” Kolosova said. “It affects everyone when the person who cannot get through the snow is not present, so it’s just important for everyone to keep sharing stories and to make these complaints because a single complaint might get ignored, but if there are many snow removal complaints about a particular business or a particular municipality, MDCR is more likely to take action when they can see the full scope of the problem.”