Alleys a Concern in Today's Post-Blizzard Plowing

As the Heights awakens from yesterday's blizzard induced slumber and gets  back to work, City Hall and the Streets and Sewer Department are getting plenty of calls from snowed-in residents.

Many of the city's main streets, such as Joe Orr Road and Lincoln Highway, are largely snow-free, but some sidestreets, such as 15th Street and Sangamon Street, are still difficult to turn onto. According to Chicago Heights Chief of Staff Matt Fares, the streets are a work in progress.

"The streets are passable," Fares said. "Some of the sidestreets still need work."

Fares said a large part of the difficulties in clearing the streets is that parked cars leave nowhere for the city's plow trucks to push the snow.

"I don't want to blame the residents or the city government for the condition of the side streets," Fares said. "It's never a good situation when you have cars on both sides of the streets. But some of our residents don't have driveways, so they don't have any other options."

The City currently has 15 trucks working on the streets, nine salt and plow trucks and six construction trucks, including Caterpillar-brand wheel loaders. Still, Fares said, there is no rest for the weary.

"We have our guys on 12-hour shifts, plowing 24 hours a day, but we're still getting calls from residents," Fares said. "You're got 33,000 residents, and you've only got 15 trucks."

What are all these calls from residents about? Alleys.

"We have people struggling, trying to get out of alleys." Fares added. "They know it's not our first priority to hit alleys, but for some people, it's the only option."

Snow Safety

Fares said there have been no reported deaths, according to the fire department, police and St. James Hospital, as a result of the blizzard. But Wednesday and Thursday were the days to be concerned about, he added.

"During the blizzard, a lot of people said 'Forget that, I'm not going out there,'" Fares said. "But the next day, when the sun is out, is when people want to go out and attack the 5-foot pile of snow in their driveway—and have a heart attack. Luckily, we haven't heard of any of those incidents yet."

There were six ambulance calls on the night of the blizzard, but no reported deaths, according to Fares, who added that the city has a strategy for helping fire trucks and ambulances operate smoothly during and after the storm.

"We have a snow plow for the fire department that just sort of follows them around to make sure the ambulances and trucks can get in and out quickly," Fares explained.

Tips from the City

With all of the post-blizzard snow-piles building up, Fares gave a few tips for residents to keep in mind:

• With some of the large piles on the sidewalks and curbs, people are forced to walk in the street. Drivers should be mindful of that and pay attention.
• If people are shoveling, they should not put the snow in the street. With the cold temperatures, larger piles can turn into a big block of ice and make plowing extremely difficult.
• The City is encouraging people to stay in and stay warm, but not to use their stove to heat their house.
• Residents should try to make sure a path is clear in front of their home in case of an emergency.

If you are snowed in, you can call the Chicago Heights Streets and Sewers Department at 708-756-5360. Fares said to keep in mind a lot of personnel are out plowing and salting.

You can also contact any one of the we posted on Chicago Heights Patch Wednesday.