Remember cold, hard facts when attempting to remove ice

It’s going to take a lot of salt, sand and sweat to remove the ice and snow coating Lawrence-area driveways and sidewalks.

But while it would have been better to have put down the ice-handling material Tuesday night when the ice started to fall, Imran Wahla, owner of Active Snow Removal, said it’s not too late.

“If they haven’t added any salt or sand yet, it probably wouldn’t hurt,” he said. “It always helps.”

Dennis Frederickson, Lawrence, spent the afternoon shoveling snow and ice off the sidewalks and driveway at his home on Abilene Street. He said he and his wife, Kathy, would take turns to clear the sidewalks.

“It’s almost impossible to get off,” he said. “I tried pouring salt on top and that didn’t help.”

The city’s new snow ordinance, approved in December, requires that residents remove snow within 24 hours of a snowfall. Failure to do so could result in a $20 fine per day, but city officials only will enforce the law on a complaint basis.

Near Deerfield School, Scott Brady, Lawrence, was clearing the wet stuff from his driveway. He said there were snow drifts up to 6 inches in front of the garage, but the rest was mainly a mixture of snow on top of ice.

“Once you get it started, it’s not too bad,” he said.

Wahla said his business received several calls Wednesday from customers who wanted to wait until today to have snow removal, hoping that would get the last of it.

Those who don’t want to pay a snow removal business or a neighbor child to scrape off the frozen crud should take precautions.

Beth Hofer and Renee Rettele, physical therapists at Kreider Rehabilitation Services, a service of Lawrence Memorial Hospital, offered several tips for snow removal safety.

Wear proper shoes with good traction and proper winter attire.

When shoveling, choose a wide stance and stagger the placement of your feet.

Avoid repetitive forward-bending at the waist and don’t twist the upper body. Bend your knees instead of bending forward.

Use your abdominal muscles and legs to support your back.

It’s important to take breaks and choose reasonable amounts of snow to remove in one load.