Chicago kicks off snow season with record number of 311 calls over uncleared sidewalks, roads

The prelude to winter has pummeled Chicago with more snow this early than the city has seen in nearly 50 years, and people are slipping and sliding their way through uncleared sidewalks and streets. And they're complaining about it.

With record snowfall comes record numbers of calls to 311, the city’s number to field non-emergency service requests. The city has seen more service calls to start this year’s snow season than the same time period in any year since at least 2019, a WBEZ/Sun-Times analysis of 311 data found.

In past years, even the historically snowier parts of winter have not prompted this many 311 calls. In no other 10-day stretch going to 2019 has the city gotten so many complaints about uncleared sidewalks.

After Mother Nature dumped 8.4 inches of snow on the city on Nov. 29 — the highest single-day snowfall in more than a decade — thousands of Chicagoans filed complaints of ice and snow on city streets and uncleared sidewalks in the days that followed. Meanwhile, another 7.2 inches of snow would fall through Dec. 10, resulting in thousands more complaints. In addition, hundreds of Chicagoans reported uncleared bike paths and bridge sidewalks and requested the removal of objects used to claim shoveled-out parking spots — a long-held Chicago practice known as “dibs.”

“Anytime people are not used to seeing snow for the last three years, and then you throw this at the end of the fall and the beginning of the snow season, it's a shock to the system,” said Cole Stallard, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation.

Stallard said the department staffs about 165 to 185 seasonal snowplow and garbage truck drivers from November through April, not just when the heaviest snow is expected, in addition to the year-round streets and sanitation staff.

“There's no room to be caught flat footed for snow because it's safety, it's public safety,” he said.

The higher-traffic streets are the top priority when clearing snow, Stallard said, and residential streets typically won’t be plowed until the snow has stopped and the main roads are passable.

“You have to keep those main streets plowed because we have a lot of buses, we have ambulances, we have fire trucks,” Stallard said. “Drive safely on those side streets and get to that main [street] … you're gonna be in pretty good shape.”

While complaints of ice and snow on city streets were logged across the city during the Nov. 1-Dec. 10 period analyzed, complaints of uncleared sidewalks and bike lanes were registered mostly on the city's North Side, while requests to remove "dibs" objects were logged mostly on the Northwest and Southwest sides.

Residents like Ronee Goldman, 26, lamented residential streets taking longer to be plowed. On a recent afternoon, Goldman, who works at the Den Theater in Wicker Park, walked her dog Bev along snowbanks in West Town, the neighborhood that logged the most snow-related service calls so far this year.

“These neighborhood streets are definitely not ready to drive,” Goldman said. “You go on the big streets, they’re a little more safe for driving. [But on residential streets] you’re gonna have a little more skidding.”

Including 1.7 inches of snow from earlier in November, the city has recorded a total of 17.3 inches so far this season. Once the snow had finally settled, the tally of snow-related complaints to 311 totaled nearly 11,500 from Nov. 29 through Dec. 10.

In all, the city received more than 12,000 snow-related complaints from Nov. 1 through Dec. 10, more than four times the next-highest amount registered during that span in any year since 2019, the earliest year for which records were immediately available.

In Chicago, the responsibility of clearing sidewalks of ice and snow falls to property owners, not the city. But snowy and icy sidewalks can still be called in to 311, and about half of this year’s calls thus far were related to sidewalks.

Fennon Wisseh, 38, has lived in West Town for around three years and has noticed snow accumulating on blocks in his neighborhood. He mostly takes public transit or walks to get around, and he said he’s noticed neighbors being “good Samaritans” to help each other handle the snow when the city hasn’t gotten to residential streets yet.

“The forecast for the weekend did clearly say there was gonna be a lot of snow, so I thought they would kind of be more ready for it, but it was clear that it built all the way up,” Wisseh said.

Wisseh, a baker for Move Along coffee shop, suggested the city avoid chemicals when doing snow removal for the sake of the environment, pets and other animals living in the area.

The vast majority of the nearly 6,000 uncleared sidewalk complaints — more than 5,400 — were logged during the 10-day period between Nov. 30 and Dec. 9. That’s the highest 10-day total for uncleared sidewalk complaints, during any time of the year, since at least 2019.

During that span, the city also recorded its highest 10-day total for requests to remove snow from protected bike lanes or bridge sidewalks.

Matt Khunke, a bartender who has lived in the West Town area for about five years, said his neighbors seem ready to help each other, especially those with mobility issues, but suggested city employees also communicate with them about their needs.

“Some of these neighbors over here are elderly and disabled so maybe even someone [from the city] could reach out to them," Khunke said. "The block is pretty willing to help them out."

Stallard echoed Khunke’s call for residents to help one another and check on their neighbors, especially the elderly and disabled. But he encouraged residents who encounter issues to contact 311 because it helps the city know where they can allocate resources and improve the streets.

“Let's be neighborly,” Stallard said. “Get out there and help each other, let's do what Chicagoans are known to do in times of need.”