MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee residents are expressing frustration as leaf piles remain buried under snow and ice more than a week after a post-Thanksgiving snowstorm, with some areas still waiting for city cleanup crews to address the mess.

The issue has become one of the main complaints brought to Alderman Lamont Westmoreland’s office, discussed during this month’s town hall meeting focused on the city’s leaf collection problems.

“In our area, they have done a terrible job as well,” Rose Lane said.

The Department of Public Works had not finished its leaf collection before the snowstorm hit shortly after Thanksgiving. When snow plows made their way through the streets, they avoided large leaf piles and pushed smaller ones back up into the curb, creating additional problems for residents.

“Pretty soon, the entire street was occupied by leaves, and nobody could park,” said Randy Crawford, a resident of the fifth district.

Watch: Milwaukee residents frustrated as leaf piles remain buried under snow

Leaf cleanup delays frustrate Milwaukee residents after snowstorm

Not everyone blames the city entirely for the situation.

“But I don’t think it was entirely the city’s fault, like I said, it’s just Mother Nature,” Crawford said.

In a release on Monday, DPW said many large piles of leaves around the city are marked and will be addressed in the coming weeks. Residents can report large piles for the department’s consideration.

However, the city says leaves pushed to the curb or into driveways by snow plows generally won’t be addressed, meaning some areas might not see cleanup until spring.

DPW says it’s not feasible to resume rake-out and leaf consolidation until warmer weather returns.

Some residents hope for earlier action if conditions improve.

“I think if we do get a break in the weather in January, we should address that,” Crawford said.

Others are already planning for spring cleanup.

“I’ll have to do whatever I have to do to get rid of the leaves I don’t want my grass to die, so we’ll see what we do,” Joe Schorse said.

Brendyn Jones/TMJ4

For now, many leaves will remain stuck to the curb throughout the winter months.

This story was reported on-air by Brendyn Jones and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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