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Sidewalk Snow Removal Rules in Berks County, Town by Town

Reading gives two to four hours, most boroughs and townships 24, and each town sets its own fine: the deadline, path width, owner-or-tenant rule and ticket for Reading, West Reading, Wyomissing, Shillington, Kutztown, Boyertown, Spring, Cumru, Exeter and Muhlenberg, from the ordinances.

Berks Connect Blog|Published October 16, 2026
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If the sidewalk is in Reading, the whole walk on the downtown blocks has to be clear within two hours of the snow stopping, and everywhere else in the city it's a three-foot path within four hours. A business elsewhere in the city clears its whole walk within those four hours. The nine boroughs and townships in the table alongside the city mostly give 24 hours, and two give 36. Each town writes its own rule, so the first thing to know is which town the sidewalk is in.

If you'd rather hand the job off, some of the companies on the county landscaping page plow or shovel in winter. This is what the ordinances say, not legal advice; a slip-and-fall question goes to a lawyer.

How long do you have to shovel your sidewalk in Reading?

On Penn Street, Washington Street and Court Street, and on Second through Ninth streets between Penn and Washington, the whole sidewalk has to be clear within two hours of the snow stopping. Everywhere else in the city you have four hours to open a path at least three feet wide, and a business outside those blocks gets the same four hours but clears the whole width of the walk. If the snow stops after dark, the clock starts at daybreak.

What's the deadline in the boroughs and townships outside Reading?

Mostly 24 hours after the snow stops. Six of the nine give you a full day, two give 36 hours, and Wyomissing's posted code sets no sidewalk snow deadline. Exeter's code gives 36 hours.

Each rule comes from the town's ordinance, as of October 2026 (Cumru's from an archived copy last amended in 1988). A town not listed has its rule at the borough or township office, and any town can amend its code.

Town Deadline after the snow stops Path to clear Who the ordinance names If it isn't done
Reading 2 hours on Penn, Washington and Court streets and on 2nd through 9th streets between Penn and Washington; 4 hours everywhere else. The clock starts at daybreak when snow stops after dark. The whole sidewalk downtown and at any business; a 3-foot path elsewhere Owner, tenant, occupant, lessee or property agent A $25 ticket, then $50, then $100 within 12 months, each day a new ticket. After 24 hours from the ticket the city can clear it and bill you, and an unpaid ticket becomes a $100 to $1,000 citation
West Reading 36 hours; 24 hours on Penn Avenue; 48 more hours in a declared emergency 36 inches; 48 inches on Penn Avenue Owner or occupant; the owner for a building with more than one tenant $25, $50, then $100 per offense, each day a new offense; unpaid, prosecution with a fine of up to $600 plus costs
Wyomissing None in the borough's posted code Not stated Not stated Ask the borough office
Shillington 24 hours 3 feet Anyone owning, leasing or occupying the property A notice giving 4 hours to clear it, then a citation of up to $1,000 a day; the borough may clear it and bill the cost plus 25 percent
Kutztown 24 hours 48 inches The owner if owner-occupied; tenants who have the whole property; otherwise the owner A notice on the door with a penalty from the borough's fee schedule; unpaid after 10 days, a citation of $50 to $1,000
Boyertown 24 hours 3 feet The owner, unless one tenant rents the whole property; then the tenant Per winter: a written warning, then $25, $50 and $100 per violation, each day a new violation; unpaid, a citation of up to $600 per offense
Spring Township 24 hours Not stated The owner, unless one tenant rents the whole property; then the tenant $35 if paid within 10 business days of the notice; otherwise up to $50 plus costs, each day a new offense
Cumru Township 24 hours 4 feet The owner, occupant or tenant $60 to $600 for each 24 hours
Exeter Township 36 hours 36 inches Owner, tenant, occupant or lessee Up to $1,000 plus costs, each day a new offense
Muhlenberg Township 24 hours Not stated Anyone owning, possessing or occupying the property Up to $1,000 and up to 90 days, each day a new offense

When ice is frozen hard, Exeter, Cumru and West Reading let you put down sand, cinders or salt within the deadline (Cumru's rule is for ice that can't be removed without damaging the walk), and Exeter and West Reading add that the path gets cleared once the weather allows. Reading's ticket rule has no such exception, so in the city clear the path. West Reading also adds 48 hours when a state of emergency is declared or the borough office closes.

Who is responsible for the sidewalk in front of a rental?

In three of these towns the ordinance uses the same formula. The owner is responsible when the owner lives there, when the building is empty, or when it has more than one tenant; the tenant is responsible when a single tenant occupies the whole property. Spring, Boyertown and Kutztown write it that way, and Cumru's names the owner, occupant or tenant. West Reading puts any building with more than one tenant on the owner, lease or no lease. Reading can write the ticket to the owner, the occupant, or both, and Shillington and Muhlenberg name anyone who owns or occupies the property, owner and tenant alike.

A lease says who does the work between landlord and tenant; the ordinance says who the town comes after.

What's the fine if you don't shovel?

The first ticket in twelve months is $25, the second $50, and the third and every one after $100. Each day the sidewalk stays uncleared can be its own ticket. If it still isn't cleared 24 hours after the ticket, the city can send a crew and bill you on top of the fine, at up to $60 an hour per worker plus materials, or a contractor's bill, each with a markup. Ignore the ticket and it becomes a citation, with a bigger fine, anywhere from $100 to $1,000.

In every ordinance in the table that sets a deadline, each day uncleared is a separate offense, and most towns can clear the walk themselves and add the cost to your bill. The boroughs and townships write their fines as caps or ranges. Cumru's runs up to $600 a day, and so does Boyertown's once an unpaid fine becomes a citation; Shillington, Exeter and Muhlenberg run up to $1,000 a day; a Kutztown citation runs $50 to $1,000.

Do townships without sidewalks have snow rules?

They do: three rules in these ordinances go beyond the sidewalk deadline. First, where the snow goes: shoveling or plowing snow into the street is a separate offense with its own fine in every town in the table except Wyomissing (in Cumru once the township has plowed, in Spring where it obstructs the road), and in Spring, Shillington, Kutztown, Exeter, Muhlenberg and Reading the fine can reach $1,000. Second, the fire hydrant. Reading, West Reading, Exeter and Muhlenberg require the hydrant in front of your property to be kept clear, and Kutztown bars piling snow where it hides a hydrant or blocks access to it.

Third, the snow emergency, which is about your car, not your sidewalk. When Reading's mayor declares one, you have four hours to get your car off the snow emergency routes, or it's ticketed and may be towed. Those routes are a fixed list in the city code; the city can also post other streets no-parking for snow with the same four hours to move, and its Parking Authority garages are free to city residents while it lasts.

Who can you hire to shovel the sidewalk?

Sidewalk shoveling and snow blowing runs about $25 to $75 an hour per worker nationally, as of 2026. A roundup of companies that plow is the best snow removal companies in Berks County, and more are on the county landscaping page. Justin Motta Landscaping in Reading plows parking lots and sidewalks and spreads sand and salt to de-ice.

Sims Lawn and Landscaping clears driveways and sidewalks for homes and businesses.

Twisted Tree Landscaping lists plowing, shoveling, snow blowing and salting for homes and small and mid-sized businesses in Berks County and the greater Reading area. Before you sign with anyone, the winter services guide has the questions to ask: what depth triggers a visit, what time your walk is cleared, what's included, and whether salt is extra.

So: find your town's row in the table, and count the deadline from when the snow stops. If the ordinance names you, book a shoveler before the next storm, not after, and don't push the pile into the street.

Frequently asked questions about sidewalk snow removal in Berks County.

Does the clock start when the snow starts or when it stops?

When it stops. Every deadline in the table is counted from the end of the snowfall (and in most towns until any ice has stopped forming), and Reading adds that a storm ending after dark starts the clock at daybreak.

Can you put down salt instead of shoveling when the ice is frozen solid?

In West Reading, yes, as a first step within the deadline: salt, sand or a de-icing chemical. Exeter's code allows cinders or another abrasive the same way. Cumru allows salt or sand within the deadline on ice that can't be removed without damaging the walk. Reading's ticket rule doesn't carry that exception, so clear the path.

Can you shovel the snow into the street?

No, in every town in the table except Wyomissing, whose posted code is silent; Cumru's rule applies once the street is plowed, and Spring's where the snow obstructs the street. It's separate from the sidewalk offense, with fines up to $1,000 in Spring, Shillington, Kutztown, Exeter, Muhlenberg and Reading.

Does a snow emergency change the shoveling deadline?

Not in Reading: a snow emergency is about cars, and the sidewalk deadline runs on its own clock. West Reading is the exception: a declared state of emergency or a borough office closure adds 48 hours.

Sources

See the 3 places in this guide on the map