Following the winter chaos that engulfed Berlin in recent weeks, the CDU and SPD coalition is planning a comprehensive reform of sidewalk snow‑clearing procedures. According to the “Tagesspiegel” on Tuesday, the existing regulations that assign clearing duties to individual property owners will be fundamentally rewritten. The reform is prompted by widespread concerns about how the city has handled snow removal across the country.
Under the new plan, responsibility would shift from individual landowners to a central authority that would contract services for specified districts. While the costs would still be borne by property owners, the city would manage the allocation of work, a model similar to the way chimney sweeps are hired in urban areas. The goal is to guarantee that sidewalks are cleared reliably and promptly, reducing the risk of accidents.
The urgency of the proposal stems from recent incidents in which many Berliners fell on icy, snow‑topped walkways that remained uneutered for days. Numerous injuries, including broken bones, required hospital treatment. Older adults and people with mobility impairments avoided going outdoors, and local businesses experienced a notable decline in sales due to the dangerous conditions.
