When I wrote a number of postings concerning the lack of snow and ice clearing on sidewalks throughout Shorewood, it became apparent from responses I received from Readers and postings from other bloggers, that a lot of us don't know how the system actually works here in Shorewood.

 I contacted Chris Swartz, the Village Manager, who explained that the task for enforcing the ordinance regarding snow and ice removal is in the purview of the Shorewood Police Department.  I confess that up to that point, I was under the impression that it would have been the Building Inspection Dept that would have been in the forefront.

I contacted the Lieutenant on duty today, Terry Zimmerman, who explained how the actual system works.  Lieutenant Zimmerman also shared that he personally has found it frustrating that property owners do not clear their walks, as he is a runner, and has found it hard to find suitable surfaces to run on this winter.

The systems works like this:

1) If there is a property owner who is not clearing their walks within 12 hours of the snow fall or ice situation, you should contact the Shorewood Police Department, their non-emergency number is 414-847-2610.

2) SPD will assign the complaint to an officer.  Upon inspection, if the walkway has not yet been cleared, the officer will contact the resident, and if no one is home, will post a notice with a 24 hour warning to remedy the situation.

3) If after the 24 hour period, the officer finds that the situation has not been remedied, he or she will write a citation against the property owner.

4) The fine for a first offense is $109.

On a personal note, If I continually find that one of my neighbors is not clearing their walkway, I would contact them and ask them to do so --- maybe there is a problem with an illness or an elderly person --- maybe it is a situation that neighbors can help each other with.

But for someone that just flouts the law, while endangering the safety of pedestrians and eschewing the Shorewood Walkable philosophy --- drop the dime --- call the Shorewood Police and they will do their job.

BTW -- there had been some discussion as to whether it is the Village or the School District that is responsible for the sidewalks surrounding the schools.  Per Mr Swartz and Lieutenant Zimmerman, it is the School District that is responsible.  If the school walks are not cleared, they too are subject to a citation and fine from the Village.  

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ? 

Driving by the Lake Bluff school this morning, I observed that the sidewalks were still covered with hip breaking ice and snow --- and at the front entrance on Lake Bluff, there is such a large patch of ice --- almost pond size --- that the kids could go skating during their break !!

The School District is not alone in making Shorewood dangerous to walk in winter --- driving through the Village, it seems about 60% of the homeowners have not made their sidewalks safe either.

What is the Village doing about this situation ?  The rules are quite clear that sidewalks must be free of snow and ice within 12 hours.  It is disappointing that the School District is setting an example of ignoring the law --- and especially disappointing that the Village still holds itself out as the "Walkable" community, while doing nothing about the scofflaws !

VILLAGE ORDINANCE CONCERNING CLEARING SNOW AND ICE FROM WALKWAYS

  466-27. Removing snow from sidewalks.

A.	Every owner or occupant of every lot or parcel of land abutting upon any sidewalks within this Village shall keep the sidewalks abutting upon such lot or parcel of land clear of ice and snow and shall clear off the ice and snow upon such sidewalks within 12 hours after the same has been deposited or formed upon such sidewalks.
B.	Further, within the same twelve-hour period, every owner or occupant as aforesaid shall sand, salt, or place approved chemicals on said sidewalks for the purpose of making the same reasonably safe for pedestrian travel thereon.
C.	Further, the Director of Public Works shall keep the sidewalks of the Village clear of ice and snow in all cases where the owners or occupants of abutting lots fail to do so. The expense of so doing shall be charged as a special tax against the abutting lots or parcels of land and entered on the tax roll, all in accordance with the authority granted under the provisions of § 66.0907 Wis. Stats.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ?  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS.

Did my civic duty at the Lake Bluff school --- and was amazed that the lot had not been cleared of the snow and ice.

Once you get close to the entrance, there was some clear pavement, but the rest of the lot is a broken hip waiting to happen.

Talking to the Poll Workers --- they said that when they first got there in the morning, even the entrances were treacherous.

Whose responsiblity is it to make sure that the voters --- old and young, able and infirmed --- have adequate access to the Polling Places.

I drove by the Village Hall, and it appeared that a much better job was done there near the entrance, although the crosswalks could have been done better.

Driving by the other Shorwood Schools --- I can see that the School District does not clear its sidewalks.  All of them, Lake Bluff, Atwater, SHS and the Middle School were all surrounded by slippery sidewalks.

Just for comparison, I drove past Riverside School in Milwaukee --- their sidewalks were nice and clear.  The same with the grade school on 9th street just south of National.

It is nice that the School District is going to have Artificial Grass and possibly a Dome at the SHS Athletic Field ---- in the meantime, maybe they can comply with the Village Ordinances and clear their walks !

 WHAT DO YOU THINK ?

This past December was a good reminder that we really do live in an area that gets snow !  Yes, here in Wisconsin, Mother Nature has been known to make life miserable by dropping a whole lot of wet sloppy snow, and then freezing it all into frozen slush.

 On December 20th I wrote a posting to this blog noting that the merchants on Capitol Drive were still hampered by the mounds of snow and ice piled up at the curb.  Shorewood had cleared the mounds along North Oakland Avenue, but hadn't gotten to Capitol Drive.  In previous postings, I had noted that crosswalks in the business district remained treacherous and needed clearing.

 On December 22nd, Tim Fotjik noted in his blog that it appeared that the Village was clearing snow for St Roberts from their lot. 

http://blogs.shorewoodnow.com/neighboring/archive/2007/12/22/if-you-were-looking-for-a-village-dump-truck-on-friday.aspx

Following up with Tim, he never heard from anyone as to why, or who paid for it. 

 Doing an Open Records request, I found out that YES, Shorewood did clean the lot at St Roberts at No Charge !

In fairness to those who are sometimes put on the spot to make a controversial decision, there was a safety element involved in the decision to clear St Roberts lot.  I think though, that Village Officials should bill St Roberts for at least the labor costs and nominal equipment costs involved.  And that if this is to be a policy, it should be extended on an impartial basis to other private property owners.

The Village Board also needs to recognize that snow and ice removal in the Business District is a priority, not only for the business owners to be able to engage in commerce, but also for the safety and welfare of the pedestrians.  Shorewood cannot be a "Walkable" community only in Good Weather !

We have seen in the past year that this current Village Board (which will also be the next Village Board due to no new candidates) has had no qualms about spending large sums of money on questionable projects.

Millions of dollars are going to a Streetscaping that is only about 10 years old.  And the Village Board Members voted to spend about Half a Million Dollar$ for plastic grass on the High School Field !

It is time that this Board gives the proper resources to the DPW to make Shorewood safe for its pedestrians in winter --- and for businesses to be accessible to their customers.

 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ?  --- YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME

For some thoughts on issues other than Shorewood, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/