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Why parents say the walk to school has been dangerous for some Moline students

“That is the property owner’s responsibility to do that.”
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MOLINE, Illinois  --  Some Moline parents are expressing concerns about a busy neighborhood off of 12th avenue in Moline. They say some parts of the sidewalks haven't seen a shovel.

Tia Sellevold's child walks to Wilson Middle School everyday, and she says when the sidewalks are not cleared, the students are forced to walk on 12th avenue in Moline.

"They come home telling me that they had to walk in street," Sellevold said. "The school has told them not to walk in the street, so they are kind of lost on what's the right thing to do."

Sellevold says this has been an ongoing problem. 

"I've been trying to get a hold of [the city] since November," she said. "I left messages when we had that first snow."

Sellevold heard from Moline Public Works on February 4th.

"We don't typically take care of residential sidewalks," Rodd Schick with Moline Public Works. "That is the property owner's responsibility to do that."

They sent out crews and plows to take care of the streets.

"There was some big piles on the corners," Rodd Schick with Moline Public Works said. "We cleared those out and hauled those away, then got pieces of side walks cleared and made those accessible for kids to walk to school."

Moline has a neighborhood improvement officer who patrols the neighborhoods issuing notices for sidewalks that are not clear.

The city gives residents 12 hours after snowfall to shovel.

"We try to come along side our residents and work with them to get to a safe solution for everyone," Schick said. "It's not about issuing fines."

"There needs to be some kind of follow through," Sellevold said. "I hate to see people have to pay money, but if that's what it takes to get you accountable to do what you're supposed to do than so be it."

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