Sherae Honeycutt

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Original Post

The sun is out, and the snow is melting, but that doesn’t mean the ice is gone. With temperatures dropping overnight that melted snow is bound to quickly re-freeze.

If you’re seeing those thick sheets of ice on neighborhood streets, Maggie Green with the city’s Public Works department said they can help.

“What they’re doing yesterday and today is addressing slick calls,” Green said. “So residents can call 311 to report a spot that has refrozen over, a spot that is still slick. They can report that through 311, and we are addressing those on an individual basis.”

They said residential streets get a once-through, but if it needs to be re-done, all you need to do is call 311.

“We’ve actually received about 300 slick calls, which is pretty low for the amount of snow that we got,” Green said. “That tells us that we really did cover the city pretty well with our snow operations the last several days. Of course, there are spots that refreeze, so that’s why we have the slick call policy through 311.”

Green said the sidewalks are the resident’s responsibility.

Dr. Robert Winfield with the University of Kansas Health System said they can be seriously dangerous.

“In most cases it’s probably not such a big deal. However, the wrong fall on the wrong part of the body at the wrong time can lead to substantial trauma, and again, we see potentially life-threatening injuries in people following a ground-level fall,” Winfield said.

He said it’s important to be cautious how you walk on slick surfaces.

“When walking on a slippery surface, you want to kind of waddle like a penguin,” Winfield said. “Put your center of gravity above the leg you’re stepping down on, and that will make sure your body forces are perpendicular to the ground and keep people upright.”

Winfield said falls are the most common injury in their trauma center. Seniors, intoxicated or frail people are the most at risk to fall.