More alley clean ups needs

Well this comment was posted for an interesting change on the "Blotter". The only refer to themselves as trapped:

trapped said...

Ald. Lyle! Streets and San! Help!

The 7600 alley between Vernon and Eberhart has not been flattened. Was it skipped from some reason? I'm in the middle of the block and need to get several children to and from school.
February 6, 2011 4:17 PM

Today on the FB page another man vents about not being able to get through his alley

All I want to know is why haven't the city been down my alley with a truck to make track's. I am at 75th and Perry. My car is stuck in the garage and I can't get 100 feet without getting stuck. We have atleast an average of 3ft. with a high of atleast 5ft. I need to get supplies for my family not to mention take my... children to daycare and get to work on monday.

In addition I have posted additional pictures of an alley in the Blizzard pics album. Check out the comments there. Ald. Lyle even chimed in on alley clean-up:

Yesterday the City cleared 150 alleys, pulled garbage from 32 alleys, opened streets and intersections. They continue to work today to clear more alleys. The ward extends from 67th & Green to 99 & Cottage, so there are a lot of alleys to clear.

It appears help is on the way, but it may well take some time.

BTW, the alley of which I have been taking pics well it was halfway cleared thanks to a private contractor. A nice family on that block paid $500 for their services. Of course thanks to a van that has been parking back there more work needs to be done to clear that alley, yet.

Feel free to continue to let us know about what's going on in your area as far as your streets and alleys. Send an e-mail to thesixthward @ 1chicago.net. Or just write on the FB page. If you use Twitter send a tweet to us @thesixthward. You can always write a comment here on the blog as well.

Also if you have pictures to share send them to blog+web@thesixthward.us. We'll just add them to the blizzard album with proper attribution.

BLIZZARD 2011: Snowed In!

Another posting at the Ask for help, lend a hand: Blizzard 2011 website found via our Blotter:

The snow needs to be cleared out of the alley between 86th & Prairie and 86th and Calumet. The snow is piled high and there is mostly elderly people on these blocks, so they can't go out and clear the alley themselves.

Good to know there are others in our community who needs help clearing our alleys.

Also check out this ABC7 article which quotes not only Ald. Lyle but also a constituent:

Ald. Freddrenna Lyle said many people are calling her 6th Ward office concerned about the snow removal efforts.

She says the strong winds created waist high drifts in some streets, which means some her constituents can't get to work.

"My concern is really beyond the fact that people are losing money not being able to get to work," Lyle said. "I have so many seniors out here and there are so many seniors all over the city and people who have doctors appointments and they have dialysis treatments they've got to get to."

"It wasn't a problem. It's just something we have to deal with. The city can only do so much," said Thomas Taylor, a 6th Ward resident

Taylor said he and some other men cleared the snow from their block.

Finally back to the subject of the alleys, found this posting over at the Edgewater Community Buzz blog about the response of their Alderman and a potential solution:

Alderman Mary Ann Smith's office reminds us that the City of Chicago does not plow alleys as it would pile up snow against garages and dumpsters. Streets and Sanitation will run large trucks through the alleys to create ruts for vehicles to pass, but with this large of a snowfall it is unlikely to help. Residents are encouraged hold "snow removal parties" and shovel their alleys clear themselves. Has anyone hosted an alley party or removed the snow from their alley themselves??

Is there anyone out there who has joined with their neighbors to clear either their streets or their alleys? Let us know here!

UPDATED: Storm reminds city dwellers of alleys' importance

Click to pic page

Another article from the Tribune, this time focused on the alleys :P

Lake Shore Drive is open, as are other major thoroughfares, and city crews have started to clear side streets.

But snowplows won't be moving down alleys, arteries that are no less important to city dwellers. Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Thomas Byrne says plows might do more harm than good, pushing snow up against garage doors. Garbage trucks, however, will try force their way down alleys to make tracks for cars, he said.

(Earlier, Ray Orozco, mayoral chief of staff, said work on alleys won't begin until "after Streets and San gets a handle on side streets.")

So, the mountains of snow in alleys will be removed from alleys only where neighbors on their own have put snowblowers and shovels to work.

Read the whole thing!

UPDATE 3:29 PM I already quoted from this Sun-Times article in the post with Ald. Lyle's quotes. But here's more about our alleys

Byrne then stepped to the podium and said, “The snow plan in effect was that we could get in contact with our provider — as many as 200 tow trucks. We brought in 84 tow trucks the night of the incident on the Drive. And those tow trucks worked constantly [all day Wednesday and into early morning Thursday] so we could get the Drive open.” 

Why did it take so long if tow trucks were standing by? Byrne said, “Every one of the cars was buried” in snow. Daley added, “It was huge drifts there. All of the sudden, it accumulated very quickly.” 

As for the side streets, Byrne said he has 474 pieces of equipment devoted to that job, including more than 200 high lifts and backhoes. But, he refused to say when it would be done, when alleys would be reopened and when garbage collection would resume.

I think I understand some of this. The residents want you to clear the alleys but will be just as upset if you pile the snow against the garage doors. An odd catch-22, but it is what it is.

Looks like we'll be on our own with this issue for a little while longer. It was cool to see people get together to help clean out some of their streets the other day. And probably their alleys as well in some areas.

BLIZZARD 2011: Please plow the side street on 70th place (Calumet Ave) and the alley

Found this report via our Blotter on the website Ask for help, lend a hand: Blizzard 2011 which is a service of the Chicago Tribune, WGN, and the Chicago Weather Center:

Please, we need assistance with the side street of 70th place and the alleys down the entire block of 7000 S. Calumet. All are still covered completely in snow. We have quite a few elderly and handicapped people who reside on this particular block, your prompt assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Here's hoping they got a response for their troubles.

BTW, I have some photos in an album at the FB page which shows my own alley still largely unplowed a day after the snow storm ended. Here's an example near 98th & Michigan:

Looking at the alley south from 98th Street

The side streets at least look much better but I'm sure there are those of us who want to get our automobiles out of our garages. :P

BTW, if you have photographs that you would like to share of your neighborhood in the aftermath or even during the recent blizzard share them with us. Post them on our FB page or send them to an e-mail address JP had set up at blog+web@thesixthward.us.

I just heard this today, it was said that clearing the alleys of snow is the responsibility of the neighborhood. Is that true?