Is It Illegal To Leave Lawn Clippings On The Road In Superior?

People that ride motorcycles and only having two wheels touching the ground are fully aware of road hazards since traction can be less than in a four wheeled car.

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Like in a car though riders reduce speed for rainy conditions, fog, and anything else that might make every second of stopping time more important.

One hazard that can sometimes be tough to avoid is lawn clippings.  We've all seen it, a patch of road, usually in front of one person's property where they or their lawn care company deposited the lawn debris onto the road and didn't bother to sweep it up.

While it's not good for cars, and certainly not good for motorcycles as it can create a slip hazard, it's also not good for the environment.  It's not good to have that organic debris in the stormwater system and it can even block storm sewer grates and drains causing plenty of issues including mild flooding.

I looked up the statute for The State of Wisconsin on leaving your lawn debris in the street just to confirm that it was still illegal.  The reason being is a lawn care company that maintains several yards on my street always leave massive amounts of lawn clippings in the road.  I had a polite conversation with them, and the employee basically told me "what's the big deal" and then said they would let their boss know.  After they left for the day, the clippings were still all over the road.

The City of Superior Code of Ordinances states:

Sec. 58-2. - Duty to keep public property clean and free from garbage, refuse and debris.

"It shall be unlawful for any person to place, throw, leave or permit to remain any rubbish, paper, dirt, waste, leaves, grass clippings, debris or garbage upon any street, gutter, sidewalk, alley, park or other public ground and it shall be the duty of each and every owner or occupant of any real property to clear any such rubbish from all adjacent streets, gutters, sidewalks, ditches or alleys."

I'm not one to be a major crybaby for stuff like this, but when it comes to riding safety, it's pretty important to me for myself and other riders.  Please keep it in mind when mowing your lawn.