Columbia sidewalks still packed with snow, ice a week after this season’s first major snowfall
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Despite it being over a week since the City of Columbia’s first major snowfall of the season, city sidewalks continue to be packed down with snow and ice.
According to Leigh Kottwitz, Neighborhood Services manager with the city’s Community Development Department, the City has received 107 cases and received fewer than 10 complaints for snow-covered sidewalks since the storm.
Problem areas include areas downtown, the Benton-Stephens neighborhood and the Paris Road Corridor.
“When we receive complaints about this issue, often it touches many properties,” Kottwitz said.
“The variability of the sidewalk clarity downtown is wild,” Columbia resident Elizabeth De Kunffy said. “I’ve slipped a few times, especially in the alleys, I have to walk through an alley to get to my apartment, so that’s been really bad.”
According to section 302.3 of the International Property Maintenance Code and City of Columbia Code of Ordinances 24-12, the city’s ordinance requires sidewalks to be free from “snow, ice and other hazards.” This is the responsibility of people who “own or occupy” a property.
The ordinance is in place for pedestrians and wheelchair users. Kottwitz added there have been reports of pedestrians walking onto the road to avoid snowy areas.
“The ordinance is to have a walkable community and also one where, if people are walking or using wheelchairs, that they have a safe path,” Kottwitz said.
“We also have a few residents in our building who are in mechanical wheelchairs, and I’ve seen some problems with them being able to get over piles of snow and patches of ice,” De Kunffy said.
When the city receives a complaint, it goes to the location to verify if there is a sidewalk violation. If there is a violation, the property owner is contacted. Repeat offenders are given warnings and possibly could be charged with a misdemeanor, which could result in a minimum fine of $750.
Kottwitz said the city has not had a history of prosecuting homeowners; however, they do keep records of homes that violate the ordinance.
“We’ve gotten a good response in many cases, sometimes it’s, just, ‘Hey, I didn’t even think about this, it didn’t dawn on me that I needed to keep the sidewalk clear,'” Kottwitz said. “We really want to raise people’s awareness about this issue, I think there’s a lot of folks that maybe if they don’t use the sidewalk, maybe they don’t realize the importance of following the city ordinance.”
Below-freezing temperatures are expected in the upcoming evenings so it is recommended that homeowners treat the snow during the afternoon hours.
“Just because you’re getting that slush,” ABC 17 Chief Meteorologist Jessica Hafner said. “I would try to get that first layer off because if anything is melted underneath, that’s going to be harder to get down and then you can probably put some salt on that and allow that to melt before the sun goes down.”
De Kunffy added that being in a pedestrian-heavy city, Columbia could do more to address the issue.
“I feel like if the businesses are solely responsible for clearing the sidewalks, we can’t expect them to have the resources to do it as well as the city could,” De Kunffy said. “The fact that only the roads and not the sidewalks are clear really reads to me that the city prioritizes cars over pedestrians, which is really disappointing.”
Complaints can be made to the city through the contact center: (573) 874-3489.