Icy Sidewalks Making For Dangerous Conditions
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- It's another tough day for pedestrians trying to navigate their way along slick, icy Chicago sidewalks.
"You have to be very careful coming out of your house," Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Thomas Byrne said.
As WBBM's Regine Schlesinger reports, once you get to the street, you should be fine. Streets and Sanitation crews have been out all night salting the main streets, and were working on the side streets Wednesday morning.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports
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"As traffic gets on it, it melts it down, and we're looking for some wind to dry things out," Byrne said. "If we can get things dried out, then we'll be in good shape."
Byrne says the city is getting a fresh supply of road salt Wednesday, and has plenty on hand to handle whatever comes our way.
But hospital emergency rooms could see another busy day, with many sidewalks encrusted with ice and making conditions treacherous for pedestrians.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding reports it has already been a busy couple of days at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the emergency room saw a 20 percent increase in urgent care visits due to the weather – specifically people falling on the ice.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding reports
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Dr. Daniel Belmont of Rush University Medical Center says he has seen the same trend in his emergency room.
"We've seen several people that came in with falls," Belmont said, "lots of ankle injuries, and some fracture of the arm and wrist injuries."
Belmont says the black ice has come as a surprise to many people as they walk out the door. He advises Chicagoans to wear rubber footwear, and call 911 if seriously injured.
