Poor
sidewalk conditions have recently made UW-L student’s walk to campus a danger. Freezing
rain followed by low temperatures and snowfall created paths ridden with large
divots, patches of ice, and piles of snow.
Most areas
on campus have been maintained well enough. They are frequently shoveled and
salted, but many of the connecting walks right outside of campus are in worse
condition.
Large
stretches of sidewalk throughout the area have been left unkempt. Even a week
after the ice storm of Feb. 20, which closed the campus that day, LaCrosse
Street from City Hall to West Avenue was ice-covered the whole distance, both
sides.
The City of
La Crosse requires residents to clear the sidewalk areas that extend around
their property of all snow and ice. This snow should be deposited in the border
areas between the curb and the sidewalk. The problem with these policies occurs
when snow and ice are frozen into a hard pack, which can be difficult or
impossible to break up with a standard shovel.
La Crosse
City Ordinance 5.08 states “If packed snow cannot be removed; it should be
treated as ice and sprinkled with ashes, sand or salt until such a time that it
can be removed.”
The fine for
an infraction of this ordinance is $2.50 per lineal foot of sidewalk for
properties that are not shoveled a day after snowfall. Most student leases will
require the tenants to uphold the shoveling ordinances, but they are not always
strictly enforced.
Warming
temperatures have brought a temporary respite, but the 2014 Farmer’s Almanac
predicts average 25 degree temperatures and consistent snowfall throughout the
month of March.
