Snow is nothing new....it kinda happens every year. You'd think after (ahem) a couple of years of snowfalls, you'd get the hang of properly removing it.

If the city is going to charge $100 a hour to clear snow from sidewalks, but doesn't have the manpower to actually do this, why not hire more people and pay them some of this money??? I know many people who would go all over town and shovel for $25-$50 an hour. Instead of the city complaining about not having the manpower, let's look for a solution. At least that is what i try to do, look for a solution, instead of looking at what is wrong.
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Just an idea, that's all.

AME8736 - I totally agree with your complaint; we had cars parked in our neighborhood that night also which prevented the plows from being able to plow curb to curb. However, just because you didn't see a ticket on those four cars, that doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't ticketed. Last year during one of the snow emergencies, my fiance backed my son's car out into the street for no more than 20 minutes while he cleared the snow from the driveway. He moved the car back into the driveway when he was finished. No snowplow came by while my son's car was parked in the street (we would have moved the car as soon as we saw the plow come down the street), but a police car did. We didn't pay any attention to that since the police car didn't stop. Five days later we received a parking citation in the mail for the snow emergency parking violation. There was never a parking ticket placed on the windshield. In fact, my fiance watched the police car drive right by...

SANDMAN - very poor taste to make a comment that refers to Janesville as "Hendricksburg" on the day after Ken Hendricks' funeral.

i know it is going to sound like i am a big grump but i have another complaint. supposedly when janesville is in a snow emergency everyone is suppose to have their car off the streets. well we live across from a house who had at least 4 cars parked out in the street the other night when the plows came thru. the cars were still sitting there the next morning and none of them havd a ticket on them. this is not the first time these cars were out there. how about enforcing the rules? a cop car even drove right on by them. did nt stop or even blinked an eye

jp53545, and, if necessary, make your point on live TV in front of the council and the manager and everyone else. You can't do that in Chicago.

jp53545-it sounds like you need a lesson in the basics of local government and the differences between council manager and strong mayor form of government (if you recall, the referendum several years back maintained the form of government by an overwhelming response...so your sentiments are clearly in the minority). Your statement "....provision of basic services, such as snow plowing, ...there is really no one who is clearly responsible." You assert that because of the form of government and the lack of councilmembers or alderpersons from respresented districts, there is no one responsible for basic services, such as snow removal. Well, now, think about that. If you have specific concerns about snow removal (not just ranting about how you must have bare pavement from your house to the grocery store), then here's what you do. Call City Services. Speak with John Whitcomb; he's the operations director in charge of snow removal. Call Jack Messer; he's in charge of Public Works. Call the City Manager's office. Call a councilmember, or why not call all seven of them. Go to the City's website and complete an econtact. I've done it. Granted, I'm nice when I ask a question and they do respond in a few days. Gee whiz; quit your complaining and actually DO something about the situation.

Comparing a small town like Janesville to Chicago is absurd. The issue is that provision of basic services, such as snow plowing, becomes a circus when things go awry and there is really no one who is clearly responsible. A city government structure where no councilors are responsible to a defined district and which is headed by a manager accountable to no one is purpose-built to return that result.

Yes, call of them and the city manager too, if necessary.

A district who has a councilmember who has no CLOUT is prone to be ignored by where the clout lies, like in Chicago.'

It's better to have seven councilmembers to call then just one about a complaint.

The unacceptable snow removal in the City of Janesville is exactly the type of mismanagement of what ought to be a bread-and-butter city function that one can expect when we've got no council representation by geographic area of the city (for example, if my street isn't plowed, which councilor do I call? Do I call ALL OF THEM?) and a City Manager who is basically accountable to no one.

The city crews do a pretty good job of clearing up after the mess, and county crews would too if their administration would let them (people suffer considerable property damage, injuries and some even die as a direct result of the incompetent county administration policies on snow removal; and emergency services workers are often left to their own devices to get to emergency calls on iced-over or drifted-shut country roads). One real issue in Janesville (Hedricksburg?) is the city policy of issuing warning letters on the first snowfall followed thereafter (time permitting) by $20 parking tickets for parking on the pavement during a snow emergency. Ticket and tow 'em! They won't forget next time, and therefore won't leave the frozen snow/ice mess on the roadway for the rest of us to deal with for weeks after they got plowed in and later cleaned their car off and drove away, likely before the city even had time to drop off a letter/ticket! The other issue is the sidewalks. I was just forced by the city to pay upwards of $4000 for sidewalks that my neighborhood did just fine without for 20 years (and the gangsta fashion wannabes are still walking in the street!). I didn't want the sidewalks, but now that I've got them I am obliged to keep them snow-free, unlike the mopes on both sides of the duplex down the street who have YET this season to make any attempt to clean their walks. Send them a letter? Right! Plow the walks and charge them? When -- spring? The city council needs to get moving on this (it happens every year, duh!) and give city workers some teeth and staffing to enforce the sidewalk snow-removal in this town. If not, lay off on forcing the nefarious "Sidewalks to Nowhere" 50-year (sure seems like it) plan (or lack thereof). The walks should have been put in shortly after the neighborhoods were built, or not at all. If people want sidewalks, there's plenty of neighborhoods that have them (and a bunch more with sidewalks that don't connect to much of anything, thanks to the "plan"!). Regardless, though, if they got 'em, they need to be held responsible for keeping the walks reasonably clean and passable in a timely manner. Why is it so hard for this city's administration to understand a timely issue and act upon it? (That's obviously a rhetorical question!)

I try to beat the snowplows to the road and make a couple passes along the curb before they get there to decrease the size of the hill they transplant to my driveway. I think they do a pretty good job plowing around here, especially since they work such long hours doing it.

It's Wisconsin. It snows in the winter here! Get a shovel or a snowthrower and get used to working with it!

I just want to tell the city crew they do a good job on the roads. And to those that think it's the citys responsibility to make sure they can get to the mail box, give me a break! I've always known it was my responsibility to clear that snow. It sounds like the complainers expect things to be perfect thats just not going to happen get over it.

it took us 3 hours yesterday to snowblow our sidewalks and driveway.plows came past at about 10:30pm they did a great job on corners again(*,*)(not happy).on the lighter side of the snow issuse it is so pretty on the trees i kinda forgot about all the work from yesterday!!

All of Wisconsin in general does a far, far better job than Michigan in my experience, and they have just as much snow, if not more. Their budget allocates next to nothing to roads, which makes winter travel there pretty treacherous. Rock County in general does a pretty good job since it focuses its efforts on its own streets (more traveled to least traveled) before it messes around with the freeway (a state road, so they feel the state should pay more for its upkeep...this is also why I-90 regularly is horrible). Janesville in particular has low taxes for a city of this size in Wisconsin...as a result, there is less budget available for snow removal. If people who would like more road money allocated are willing to pay for the cost it would take to do a better job plowing, by all means, tell the City Council this. But Janesville is notoriously cheap and any raise in taxes scares people (no matter WHAT it is for). As a result, the best solution is to shovel yourself or resign yourself to getting out the checkbook.

If every car was off the road and no one was out driving during plowing and the plows did a bad job I would say we have a problem.

However, these folks are called out day or nite on short notice to do this and we constantly put obstacles in their way and wonder why they do not perform to our liking?

Next time you are out plowing your drive way have some kids out in the drive way with bikes while someone is parking in your drive way... and oh ya you've also been out ther 15 hours already and see how good you do.

I was in Janesville recently and was on one of the very side streets of a very nice residential area (these people pay as much taxes or more than everyone else, by the way) and it was in such bad shape, I was astonished. It seemed like no one had plowed it all winter. I live in remote northern Wisconsin and our town takes better care of our roads out here. Janesville needs to do a better job.

With all the problems related to plowing the streets when it snows isn't there a a manual of snow removel 101..?? We can keep men in space... fly the shuttle... fly drones over Iraq from a base in Nevada and yet we still have problems with snow.... Has anyone at the city checked with Black Hawk Tech to see if they offer snow removal as a course.

Milton is snowplowing just as bad. Living on a corner lot here the city crews are unable to turn right next to the curb so they plow farther and farther away from the mailbox - I give up trying to help the mailcarriers. I will crawl across the snowbank if I have to to get the mail.
I work on first shift sundays so the last few times I left for work the streets around my home in Milton were left untouched until the next snowstorm and then the streets were rutted and rough.
I guess that's a good example of your tax dollars at work.

How about this one.... the city plows the snow so crappy in front of my building's mailbox(townhouse building) that the maillady can't get close enough to the box, THEN after speaking with the post office because they tell me they won't deliver mail until the snow bank is cleared, I get told that I have to contact the city. The city tells me it's a city wide problem and they can't do anything about it.... Yeah alot of help the city did with THAT one! I understand not wanting to hit the mailbox, but the curb is gonna stop the plows blade before my mailbox will!!! And with the ice that came, I couldn't shovel it to clear it either.... I had to have a personal plower come and plow a pathway for my mail person!! Nice that we had to eat the cost of that huh???

They want sidewalks shoveled within 12 hours, well I want my street plowed clear within 12 hours, not 3-5 days like they normally take. I love it when they declare a snow emergency and you cant park on the street until its plowed. Well due to work schedules in this house and a one car driveway, its not feasible to keep both vehicles in the driveway (one has to be parked over the sidewalk)while waiting for the city to get the plows out on the side streets. Usually by time they DO plow our street, the snow is packed 2-3" thick and slick as hell. Now if one of the council croanies lived on this road it would be cleared ASAFP.

it's next to impossible to get the corners after the snowplows come by and make drifts there.

some people have to work and cannot get to it until late at night.

Ame- I have resided in quite a few upper/lower appts and have found that typically the lower tenant is expected to care for the yard and the snow removal. Many of my past landlords have made sure to include that note on the lease agreement as well. But I would suggest asking your landlord.

Ame, you would have to look at your lease or contact your landlord. My guess is there isn't any way you could ask her to help without causing a problem. If you get along well, perhaps suggest you all could go out at the same time to get it shoveled more quickly. My duplex was a side by side and thankfully the neighbors were just as good about shoveling.

question? if u live in a duplex who is responsible for shoveling snow and doing the yard work? we live in a duplex flat--one apt above the other. the person who lives upstairs does not do anything to help with the shoveling. not even to shovel her stairs to her apt or to shovel out her car. we do it once in a great while but we dont even get a thank you. not fair that we should have to do it all. she lives here also. maybe a diffrent story if she was elderly or handicapped but she is neither.

Actually WhyDoYouAsk, both the leases I signed during the time I have lived in Janesville, state the "tenant" is responsible for snow removal. It also gives the time frame that it needs to be done in, usually within 12 or 24 hours after the snowfall is complete. With that being said, I was not living in an apartment complex but a duplex. I can see where the larger buildings would/should have maintenance people to handle the parking lot and sidewalks. Hence the additional fees added to their rents. Years ago when I did live in a complex they never seemed to get around to shoveling in a timely fashion so I just did it myself. If they aren't shoveling in your "hood", look up the address on the tax assesors site and call their landlord. If the tenant is responsible, that may light a fire under them, to get it shoveled! Good luck!

I lived in Beloit for 15 years before moving back to Janesville for the past 3. I agree that Beloit does do a great job plowing their streets. I lived on a cul-de-sac and even that was plowed withing 24 hours. They have a ton of small trucks with plows on them and they were easy to manuever. I am also an avid runner and believe me, I have seen my share of sidewalks not shoveled. Most are rentals as you say. BUT, I would rather run on a sidewalk with a coating of snow rather than a bare one that has ice from the melting snow. I will run in the streets covered with snow than a bare sidewalk with ice. Much better traction. I do realize it is much too dangerous to run in the street. The one previous poster is right, we live in Wisconsin and it snows. Anyone who lives here knows it is harder to get around when it snows. The streets are packed with drivers even today. Does not seem to bother most.

Lots of good comments today. First, I agree with "mymaro" regarding Beloit's streets. In fact, this situation was among the first I observed after moving to Janesville from Beloit. I have no idea as to why this is except it seems Beloit gets its plows out quicker and possibly runs them throughout a storm. I, too, feel very badly for Mr. Kehoe and all the others who stuggle with this weather.

I would like to know how the city handles violations that occur in front of/near rental properties. In my neighborhood, it seems the only sidewalks/corners that repeatedly do not get shoveled are those of rental properties/duplexes.
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It has been a number of years since I rented, but if I remember correctly, every lease I signed stated that snow removal, grass-mowing, maintenance, etc. was the responsibility of the landlord. If this is still the case, how does the city handle complaints against landlords who do not live in the area? If those issues are handled as stated in the above story, it would be reasonable to assume that many of these properties go unshoveled all winter, as the city says they have a backlog of complaints to investigate.
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I also believe that many of the "repeat offenders" cited by other posters are likely rental properties that don't get shoveled all winter -- again, this is based on what I see in my 'hood.
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And yes, I realize that renters could easily grab a shovel and clear their sidewalks. But, they are also paying for that service in their monthly rent. Telling a renter to get out there and shovel would be the city telling me, as a homeowner, to put a plow on my truck and clear my street because there aren't any city employees available to do it.

Neighbors.....in the time it takes you to get upset, gripe to anyone who will listen and then call and complain about the sidewalk that ales you, you could have shoveled the sidewalk yourself, and helped out someone who may have truely had intentions of shoveling but for whatever reason couldn't, have instilled the fullness in your heart that doing good for others can only do, and prevented other people from getting hurt or worse yet, from the harm anger and resentment do to one's soul and outlook on life. Let's just do what we can, and remember that sometimes, people have intentions of doing what needs to be done, but just can't. And I don't think that they need to put up a sign in their driveway explaining why things aren't done, we should just let the power of goodwill take over and help out as much as we are capable, instead of wishing harm on the person who has effected your travels by reporting them....there are much more serious crimes that need the attention of the localities than snow in your way.

Instead of complaining about the sidewalks where you walk, if you are able, grap a shovel on the way out the door and shovel the sidewalks as you go. It is great exercise and you may actually be helping some one out.

i live on a corner lot.yes that is what we choose to buy.what we didn't choose is the plows to completly bury the corners.the last snow fall they left 4 feet on the corners,we were not home when the plows came so by the next am we had a block of ice.when you see corners like that you need to call the city to remove the snow,i have called them in the past and complained when they come out and look at the mess they have also agreed that it should never had been plowed like that.so my point is it's not always the home owners fault when corners are a mess .

i dont really care to here any reasons for why janesville can not keep the streets cleared in the winter and as for the budget we live in wisconsin and it snows here get it right also as for the sidewalks i do not think it is right for the city to warn or fine anyone when they do not plow until there is 2 inch if they plow then yes we should shovel end of storie

I feel for Mel Kehoe. I walk a lot on the south side of Janesville and feel his frustration about the lack of snow shoveling on this side of town, especially the huge piles of snow and ice at the corners when you are trying to get from one block to the next. My walk is just over 4 miles and even 2 days after a snowfall I can write down atleast 20 homes that have failed to shovel on my route. And that doesn't cover the people who live on corners who fail to clean them out so I can get off that block, cross the street and get onto the next block. And every year, every snowfall, I can count on the fact that certain homes will never clean their walks and will have to be reported. It can take 2 weeks for the city to get to cleaning them off. I have had it and mostly walk my entire route in the streets. I've had people ask me why I am in the street and not on their shoveled walk. Well, thank you I say for shoveling your walk, but, as you can see your neighbors have not, again, shoveled. There is no point to walk on your sidewalk, when the next is covered with snow and ice. I think the streets are plowed off very well on this side of town. The guys doing it- I appreciate the good work you do.

Kudos to Council members Brunner and Truman if you actually do care about us walkers and are willing to do something about this. Let's not come up with a different policy that is just as lame as what we have now. Go ahead, offend these lazy people who don't shovel. The homeowners on my route that don't shovel, I've seen them out, they are not elderly or handicapped. They are lazy. Some have shoveled their driveways, but not their walks. Let's get tough on this, check out the sidewalk shoveling ordinance Madison has. No warnings, you get a fine if you don't shovel. No warning, just hand them a fine.
"Madison City Ordinance 10.28 requires that sidewalks be cleared of all snow and ice not later than 12:00 noon of the day following each snowfall. Days end and begin at 12:midnight. An example would be: Snow starts to fall on Monday morning. The snow stops at 11:59 p.m. on Monday night. The sidewalk would have to cleared by 12:00 noon on Tuesday. If the same snow continued until Tuesday morning at 12:00 midnight, the sidewalk would have to be cleared by 12:00 noon on Wednesday.
When public walks are found in violation, the property owner is issued a citation with an initial fine of $109.00. All subsequent violations at the property during the current snow season will result in a $172.00 fine."

i also live in janesville but i go to beloit often to see relatives. the streets in beloit are cleared ten time better than here in janesville. even side streets in beloit are pretty clear and here in janesville you cant even see the pavement on our side streets. this isnt a one time observation, it has been every storm so far this year.

I live in Janesville and work in Madison. If everybody in Janesville had to get around Madison for a few days after a big snowfall I think the # of complaints would be cut in half. Madison streets are terrible during snowstorms, and the sidewalks are almost unmanageable. I've been quite pleased with the snow removal in Janesville so far this year. Everyone needs to understand that the most highly traveled roads need to be taken care of first. My only complaint is the 3 1/2 feet of ice and snow that accumulates at the end of my driveway from the plows.