Fresh snow is complicating sidewalk enforcement in Sioux Falls. They were supposed to be clear by Thursday afternoon, but Friday morning's snowfall is hiding the hazards.
Del Jerke was busy finishing up another afternoon of shoveling. This is his third time this week, it's also one of the easiest. The light stuff that fell on Friday moves quickly. But Jerke knows it's also hiding what wasn't shoveled.
“There's a lot of complaints, especially walking down 10th Street, there's a lot of them. A lot are still full of snow, ice,” Jerke said.
Jerke walks his neighborhood when he isn't busy shoveling his drive. He's personally seen the hazards.
“It's slippery. Two people fell. They didn't get hurt, but they fell down,” Jerke said.
Courtney Pickel walks her dog every day. She says by Wednesday afternoon most of the sidewalks were clean. Her dog Cooper has a tougher time navigating than she does, but when a majority of these homes are compliant, the ones who are not stick out even more.
“If you see snow, it's really icy underneath because they're not very good at shoveling,” Pickel said.
“The neighbors here are real good. They're out there shoveling and everything like that, but once in awhile you get a few. It's pretty bad,” Jerke said.
City officials say complaint calls started to come in about homes that don’t have their walkways clean. Parking Facilities Manager Matt Nelson says the city received 100 complaint calls so far this week.
But the real warriors are those out on the streets every day. And a fresh coat of powder makes what was a tricky walk even more difficult to stick to.
Sioux Falls residents typically have 48 hours after a snowfall to clear off sidewalks. This week the city extended that by two days because of the ice event.
If you'd like to make a complaint, the number to call is 367-8171.
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