Lyssa Beyer

The warmer weather finally appears to be within our grasp. There have been sun-filled days, temperatures that don’t have a minus sign in front of them and even the sight of students right on our campus sporting shorts and T-shirts. The wind chill, which used to gauge how fast we’d have to trek across the footbridge before regretting not wearing that second or third jacket, is now one of those funny little statistics we use to throw at our friends in warmer places, where 50 degrees to them requires hand warmers and a fuzzy parka.

Springtime in Wisconsin is full of temperature changes, unexpected snowstorms and more-than-welcome 40-degree days, which help thaw out the frozen roads, sidewalks and lawns that we haven’t seen since we were carving pumpkins. However, the temperature changes can become a hazardous problem.

Here’s a first-grade science lesson: when snow melts, it turns into water. When the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, that water turns into ice, a less tractable surface than snow because most of us, I would venture to guess, don’t wear cleats to school. And if you do, the people in charge of keeping the floors free from cracks, chips and divots inside university buildings would like to have a word with you.

I bring up the painfully obvious because apparently, about half of the property owners in the Third Ward skipped out on first-grade science. After our 73rd snowstorm of this winter about a week and a half ago, on the very next day, there were residents dutifully removing snow from the sidewalks as best as they could, which meant that most of it was simply piled up next to the sidewalk. The snow they couldn’t scrape from the sidewalk was simply left there, which on that day was perfectly alright because, let’s face it, Wisconsin will have four representatives in next year’s World’s Strongest Man competition due to the snow shoveling we’ve had to do this year.

It’s now a week and a half since the last storm. We’ve had a few thawing days, which makes navigating sidewalks fairly easy during the day when everything’s just standing pools water and patches of snow. However, in the hours between sunset and sunrise, the water freezes, turning into ice, and makes it difficult to walk the eight blocks back to my apartment from campus. While I will admit to having had several out-loud chuckles when some poor student slips and falls onto the sidewalk, gets up to make sure nobody saw it, and quickly storms off, there’s obviously some serious consequences if, say, they land on their arm or hip awkwardly.

Here is the City of Eau Claire ordinance for sidewalk snow removal, right from the city’s own government page:

“Ordinance 13.20.010, Cleaning of snow and ice required: A. The owner of every lot or parcel of land shall keep the public sidewalk adjacent to said premises reasonably free and clear from snow and ice and shall clear the snow from such sidewalk within twenty-four hours following a snowfall. Any owner violating the provisions of this section shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars for each offense. Upon the failure of an owner to clear any sidewalk as required under this section, the City shall cause the sidewalk to be so cleared and shall cause the cost thereof to be levied as a special tax chargeable to such lot or parcel of land to be collected like other taxes upon real estate, as prescribed in Wis. Stats.

“66.615. B. ‘Sidewalk’ as used in this chapter means any sidewalk, path, walk or way regularly used by pedestrians along any opened and established street and within the boundaries of such street.”

My quibbling over snow removal isn’t so much that it isn’t done, but that it’s not really enforced, either. The person who answers the phones at the Eau Claire City Attorney’s office said the ordinance isn’t enforced until someone complains about it. They said they don’t actually go out looking for sidewalks covered in ice. I have to admit, I wouldn’t have much motivation to go out and look for them either, considering that most of the sidewalks in the city happen to be covered in snow or ice. It’s an issue that in four weeks, we’ll all forget about as we’re tanning in the balmy 46-degree weather, mowing our brown lawns and having huge Easter barbecues despite the fact that most yards will still be swamps.

To its credit, UW-Eau Claire does a fantastic job of snow removal. Once I get across State Street, my poor ice skates get chewed up by dry concrete sidewalks and the maintenance guys in the little white carts glare at me for leaving blade marks on their freshly-salted paths.

It’s the entire community around the campus I’m frustrated with, refusing to acknowledge the obvious dangers of leaving snow, ice, trash bins and other obstacles in the way of students and residents who use the sidewalks to get places. If all it takes is one complaint to get something done about the Gilbert Street Ice Arena, complete with its very own vehicular slalom, I hope this is sufficient.

Kaska is a senior political science major and guest columnist for The Spectator.