Who's in charge of plowing streets? KCMO helps answer
Jan 08, 2025
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Northland neighborhood saw the best street cleaning Wednesday, a full three days after the snow started falling in the Kansas City metro.
The streets at the Lakeview Terrace neighborhood, northwest of 169 Highway and Englewood Road, aren't city-maintained.
Christina Faltynowski lives on North Madison Avenue and said her street looked a lot different a day ago. She took pictures Tuesday near Christopher Drive.
"Literally they just started plowing," Faltynowski said in an interview with FOX4 around 11:30 Wednesday morning.
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After we were done talking by her home, we walked south toward the community center, where we found a YES! Communities snowplow driver clearing that street. Maintenance Man Douglas Baltezore talked to FOX4 in his truck for more than 10 minutes.
"It got done the night it snowed by our contractors," he said.
Faltynowski disagreed, saying the plowing wasn't done until Wednesday morning.
"No, there was at least a single lane in here since it snowed," Baltezore continued, talking to FOX4 and Faltynowski. "Yes mam."
"No, not here," she replied. "I mean we have a camera that goes off every time."
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Faltynowski sent FOX4 video of a snowplow going through just before 8 p.m. Sunday. Baltezore said a contractor went through the neighborhood at that time.
"Monday, we were dealing with freeze ups, people without water," Baltezore said when asked if he thought he should have been plowing Madison Avenue Monday or Tuesday. "So, that's our more primary concern than touching up what our plow contractor did, ya know?"
While Faltynowski says she owns her physical home, she doesn't own the land it sits on. The city's parcel viewer shows Lakeview Terrace, or YES! Communities out of Denver, owns the land under all the mobile homes in the neighborhood. There's no public right of way there.
A city official FOX4 talked to off camera Wednesday says a sidewalk or street in a city is a public right of way where pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles are allowed access. The fact there's no public right of way helps tell you, the city's not responsible for cleaning the street.
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That city official said residents who have questions about street or sidewalk cleaning should submit them through the myKCMO app. Then city workers can direct you as to whether they're in charge of cleaning your street or sidewalk.