Madison building  inspectors are dealing with treacherous, icy sidewalks that caused a "stunning" number of emergency room visits over the weekend.

The city's three hospitals reported at least 177 emergency room visits for head bumps, breaks, fractures and other injuries since rain froze and capped sidewalks and streets with ice starting Saturday night.

"Most were treated and released," University of Wisconsin Hospital spokeswoman Toni Morrissey said Monday. "But there are a lot of really banged up people."

Meanwhile, city crews have spread 1,000 tons of sand — five times the volume compared to a normal snowstorm — to add traction on residential streets, where salt isn't used to melt ice under city policy, Streets Division Superintendent Al Schumacher said.

The city uses salt on main roads, bus routes and around schools, hospitals and fire stations, and those places are largely dry, Schumacher said.

Usually, the city only sands curves and intersections in residential areas, but to deal with the ice, crews are trying to sand all residential streets, he said.

"We'll keep up the heavy sanding pace until all the streets are in good shape," Schumacher said.

Still, some hills or shaded areas may remain treacherous until the ice melts, he said.

"People will have to drive cautiously," he said.

Starting at noon Monday, building inspectors began issuing $109 citations to property owners who failed to clear ice from sidewalks or make them safe.

Inspectors are focusing on main pedestrian corridors, high-traffic areas Downtown, and areas with a lot of seniors, neighborhood preservation and inspection division director George Hank said.

If ticketed sidewalks aren't clear the next business day — in many cases today — the city will do the job and charge another $100 or so, depending on the scope of work.

A lot of people got out and put salt down Sunday morning, but an estimated 10 to 15 percent of sidewalks remained uncleared on Monday, Hank said.

"That's a lot of sidewalk," he said.

The city requires that property owners clear sidewalks by noon the following day after a snowfall or ice storm, in this case noon Monday.

The sidewalk is supposed to be cleared from edge to edge, but if ice or snow can't be moved, the sidewalk at least must be made safe for passage.

"Sand, sand, sand," Hank said.

If residents have received a citation, a second and subsequent tickets after another storm will cost $172.

The city has already issued about 300 citations this winter, generating at least $32,700, Hank said.

Last winter, the city issued 1,800 citations, generating at least $196,200.

The icy conditions caused a rash of injuries beginning Saturday night and continuing through Monday, the city's hospitals reported.

At least 56 people made emergency room visits to St. Mary's Hospital, spokeswoman Gail Lobdell said.

Another 53 were seen at Meriter Hospital, spokeswoman Mae Knowles said.

And 68 more were treated at University of Wisconsin Hospital, Morrissey said.

"That's just a stunning number," she said.

Meriter expects to see more injuries until the ice melts, Lobdell said.

Madison police responded to 48 vehicle crashes, four with injuries, from Saturday through Monday, Sgt. Jim Dexheimer said.

The ice was so bad that Streets Division vehicles had to back up and down hills to get traction from their own sand, Schumacher said, who said city drivers managed to avoid hitting any cars.

"We hit a couple of mail boxes, but didn't bounce into any cars at all," he said.

Madison sand stockpile sites

East Side:

• Monona Golf Course. Parking lot at the corner of Monona Avenue and East Dean Road.

• Olbrich Park. Softball parking lot off Walter Street.

• Reindahl Park. Portage Avenue parking lot.

• Warner Park. Parking lot near North Sherman Avenue.

• School Road Waste Oil Site. Intersection of School and Wheeler roads.

• Demetral Park. Parking lot off of Sixth Street.

• Tenney Park. Parking lot off Sherman Avenue.

West Side:

• Garner Park. Parking lot off Rosa Road.

• Elver Park. Parking lot off McKenna Boulevard.

• Brittingham Park. Boathouse parking lot.

• Glenway Golf Course. Parking lot off Speedway Road.

• Spring Harbor Parking Lot. Corner of Norman Way and Lake Mendota Drive.

• Yard Waste Site. 402 South Point Road

• Sand is for use by individuals, not contractors.