It snowed a lot over the weekend. It’s gonna snow some more in the next few days. Who removes all that snow? Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works. Is the DPW doing a good job at snow removal? Well, according to two Milwaukee alderman, the answer is NO.

“The Department of Public Works’ snow removal efforts in the wake of this past weekend’s snowstorm are simply unacceptable,” begins a joint statement from Alderman Khalif J. Rainey and Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II. “Neighborhood streets across the city are a mess, and we are almost 48 hours past the end of the snowfall. Our residents are—AGAIN—fending for themselves as they use their own shovels and snow blowers to dig out from the snow, doing the job that DPW apparently isn’t up to doing!”

Rainey and Stamper go on to say that they have “watched our constituents trying to dig out stuck vehicles from unplowed streets so that they can go to work or go get groceries.” They also blast the “high level” of snow removal in the downtown area, while charging that “the neighborhoods can barely get a single plow pass.” Rainey and Stamper represent the city’s 7th and 15th districts, respectively.

Their statement continues:

We have watched our constituents trying to dig out stuck vehicles from unplowed streets so that they can go to work or go get groceries. Our offices have been bombarded with calls and complaints from tired and angry community members who are rightly dismayed by the lack of service.

Why wasn’t DPW prepared for this storm? We intend to hold departments accountable for delivering services at a level necessary to help our citizens, and we will certainly be doing that in this case. We appreciate the calls and complaints from residents, and we strongly encourage those to continue, so that we can pass them along to the DPW leadership and hold the department accountable.

Also, it is disturbing to see snow removal efforts at a high level in our downtown area while the neighborhoods can barely get a single plow pass. We are frustrated and we share the concerns and frustration of the community.

If you have poor snow removal in your neighborhood, we encourage you to please call us to report it, so we can then ask DPW to step up plowing for you and your neighbors. You can reach us at 414-286-2863 (Alderman Rainey) or 414-286-3771 (Alderman Stamper).

For general updates residents are encouraged to visit www.milwaukee.gov/snow. This link has info on snow emergencies, parking status, how to sign up for alerts, etc.

To request a street be plowed residents can also call 414-286-CITY.

According to WISN 12, DPW “sent out 110 trucks with salt and plows Saturday night and ended up with 270 pieces of equipment on Milwaukee’s roads by Sunday morning.” The news station received plenty of complaints about snow removal, too, mostly from the East Side, Riverwest, and downtown neighborhoods.

“Most of the feedback (about DPW’s efforts) is positive, not exclusively,” Alderman Nic Kovac told WISN 12. “We can always do better, but I think they’ve been doing a good job and most of the feedback I’ve gotten is our crews are working very hard.” Kovac represents the city’s 3rd district.

And oh yeah: a “snow emergency” is in effect for the City of Milwaukee, so if you’re parking on the street from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., be sure to park on the even-numbered side of the street (because, you know, today is an even-numbered day). Brush up on the city’s kinda-confusing-but-not-really-confusing winter parking rules HERE.

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Matt Wild weighs between 140 and 145 pounds. He lives on Milwaukee's east side.