WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lexington County residents are voicing their concerns on social media about grass clippings left on the road that make potentially dangerous conditions for motorists.
Those driving down Delree Street in West Columbia might see grass clippings on the roadside.
"If you come down through here on a motorcycle or something and the grass is out there, especially after we have a little damp rain, if you hit the brakes, the motorcycle is going to slide twice as far as it normally would," resident Glenn Derrick said.
Derrick has lived nearby for 24 years and said that after the grass is cut along Delree, it stays out on the road along with litter.
"When the lawnmower comes down through here, it cuts the side of the road, all the grass clippings go onto the road and all the trash," Derrick said. "All the trash is cut up like the grass, and it covers about half of the right side lane over there, and it will stay there for two to three days, really according to the weather and the rain."
It's causing problems for motorcyclists like Thomas Banks.
"If you ride on grass clippings, it's like sand. Anything gets up in that tire, especially if the tire has no grooves where anything can go at, it can also cause you to slip and fall or cause an accident," Banks said. "I don't really like it, especially you don't really know what's in that debris when they cut it, so it could be, like, something inside your tire or something like that. Also it's an eyesore for this community as well."
It's not just dangerous for motorcycles, though, Banks said.
"You can't really see the lines or anything like that," Banks said. "At nighttime, that grass is - the white line that normally would guide you; it's covered up, so you're not really gonna see anything, especially if it's raining or it's dark; so, pretty much you end up in the woods or in somebody's lane or something like that."
For residents like Alfred Covington, who has lived in the area for 15 years, it's an eyesore.
"It kind of gets you a little bent out of shape," Covington said. "There's cans in it, but mostly grass and weeds and sticks and stuff."
News19 contacted Lexington County to learn more and found out this street is managed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) as part of its vegetation management.
The vegetation management guidelines don't mention cleanup efforts after mowing.
South Carolina Code of Laws does have a specific section about putting foreign substances on highways, although it does not seem to apply to streets.
But for residents like Banks, clearing the grass clippings is an extra step he'd like to see for safety and aesthetics.
"I wish they would just clear the grass clippings," Banks said. "That'd be really helpful."
SCDOT does have a maintenance work request form online that residents can fill out with concerns.