MADISON, Wis. — Mother Nature may have thrown us a bone with these warm temperatures, but Madison city officials want to remind property owners: don’t expect her to pick up the shovel – as they’re seeing complaints of sidewalks with piles of snow and ice pile up.
According to Liz Stanislawski, the public information officer for the city’s building inspection division, since Christmas Day they’ve gotten 160 complaints of uncleared sidewalks and eight complaints of over-salting.
“So we are in the process of visiting those sites where people have expressed that the snow and ice has not been cleared. We will continue to inspect those areas tomorrow and into Friday, if necessary,” Stanislawski said.
She says it’s not just snow and ice that can prove a nuisance or a hazard — even slush can be dangerous.
“We’re asking residents to please not rely on the weather to do your job for you. If there is any snow, slush, ice on your public sidewalk please clear it,” she said.
Just last week, the city extended the sidewalk clearing deadline to noon on Sunday due to the winter storm that brought blizzard-like conditions and bitter cold.
RELATED: Madison updates ordinance on salt use, including fines for using too much
That came after the city updated an ordinance to limit “the use of salt or other melting agents to the amount necessary to treat the ice so it can be removed.”
If snow and ice aren’t cleared, the fine for the first offense is $124 and $187 for the second offense.
“If we do issue that fine, in addition to that we will have a contractor clear the snow so it is safe to walk on and the property owner adjacent to that public sidewalk will foot the bill for that,” Stanislawski said.
If excess salt isn’t cleared, the first fine could be up to $50 and $100 for the second.
According to Stanislawski, there is a concern about salt being moved around quicker with the rain forecasted for the next several days.
“Too much salt will get in our waterways which is obviously very bad for our lakes and rivers,” she said.
“We ask that you don’t rely on the warmer weather to melt that snow,” Stanislawski said.
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