South Milwaukee Blog

Jen Sielaff from the South Milwaukee School District reached out to me today with an important message: Please shovel your sidewalks as soon as possible, especially in those areas frequented by children walking to and from school.

It’s a safety issue … and a good reminder for all of us.

(And it’s also in the city ordinances.)

Here are a few more updates and tips from the city as storm cleanup continues …

• Most alleys were plowed by Thursday morning, and plow crews continue to work widening the streets to push the snow closer to curbs. This may mean snow will be put back on driveways and sidewalks – an unfortunate but necessary reality after storms like this. Your continued patience is appreciated. Plowing will continue Friday.
• To those residents who live near one of the city’s 667 fire hydrants, please take some time and shovel them out. Residents are also advised to clear catch basins to avoid street flooding from melting snow once the weather warms (come July, at this pace).
• Don’t forget to clear furnace and dryer vents of snow to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.
• Elderly residents who need help clearing snow should contact the Interfaith Good Neighbor Project at 414-220-8660. Also, please consider volunteering for this valuable program.

I’d also like to give a shout out to our Street Department for their tireless efforts of the last few days. Long hours and difficult conditions confronted the city’s crews, and I appreciate their efforts in getting the city moving again after this truly historic storm.

To all of our plow drivers and others in the Street Department: Thank you!

That’s how much snow fell, unofficially, in South Milwaukee, during the Blizzard of ’11, as measured at the wastewater treatment facility.

Bear in mind that that total was hard to measure due to the extreme winds, blowing and drifting. And that number does not include what we received from the smaller storm on Monday and earlier Tuesday.

It’s also higher than some of our neighbors. Mitchell International officially received 14.5 inches from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, while Racine and Kenosha both received more than two feet.

Check out the Journal Sentinel story here.

One big four-foot snow drift. That’s what my driveway was today.

At least my kids liked it.

South Milwaukee School District classes are on for Thursday, according to the district.

Milwaukee, however, has cancelled classes, as has Cudahy “due to cleanup efforts,” according to the Cudahy School District website. St. Francis schools are also closed on Thursday “due to inclement weather and cleanup,” according to that district’s website.

Do you agree with the South Milwaukee School District’s decision? Post your comments below.

Update: I just got off the phone with the Street Department, and they are planning on staying as long as it takes tonight to plow all alleys in the city. Hopefully that alleviates some of the concerns I’ve heard about tonight. Again, your patience is appreciated.

The Street Department is (and I am) urging patience when it comes to plowing operations following this historic storm.

Here’s a quick update from the city as of this afternoon …

• The Street Department has made at least one pass down streets and has crews working on another. Many have had more.
• This 20 inches of snow was a challenge for snow removal, as the drifts were taller than blades on plows. This has obviously slowed the process because of the depth of the snow in areas.
• Plowing alleys requires the use of the V-plow instead of the trucks with plows, further slowing that process down.

I wonder what you think of the city’s plowing efforts today.

While I’ve gotten several calls from constituents this afternoon and evening upset that their streets and alleys had not been plowed, I was impressed with how clean some of the city’s major streets (Chicago Avenue, Milwaukee Avenue, Rawson Avenue) were as of 3 p.m. today, when I was out and about.

Let me know what you think by posting a comment below. Of course, you can call (764-8673) or email (erikbrooks32@yahoo.com) me, and check back to the blog for further updates.

You may also call the Street Department with specific concerns at 768-8075.

Here are more updates from the Blizzard of ’11 …

• The South Milwaukee Library is closed today (in addition to City Hall).
• The self-deposit station will be closed until Saturday.
• Residents who were supposed to have their garbage picked up on Wednesday will have it picked up Friday.

Also, the National Guard assisted 15 motorists in Oak Creek during the heart of the storm. Check out the Journal Sentinel story.

This map from the National Weath Service might help answer that question.

I’ll keep you posted when I get an “official” number for South Milwaukee.

Racine got just shy of two feet!

Spending a night at the Cudahy Police Station was good news for a half dozen area residents who found themselves stuck in the blizzard overnight.

The Journal Sentinel has the story here. From it:

Akosua Akyeampong, a licensed practical nurse who works at the Jewish Home and Care Center on N. Prospect Ave. in Milwaukee, was just 10 blocks from her South Milwaukee home when her Toyota Corolla got stuck at E. College and S. Barland avenues. She was lucky, though — a police officer came along after just 15 minutes and dropped her at the Cudahy station. …

Stranded motorists were also reported in South Milwaukee and St. Francis, dispatchers there said — but they didn’t have time to talk about it.

There were also issues in Oak Creek and Franklin.