How much in additional property taxes would you be willing to pay the City of Park Ridge so that, after a blizzard like last Sunday’s, all the streets and City parking lots would be curb-to-curb clear of snow and ice within 24 hours?
That’s a question few people – even those who chose to register off-topic beefs about the City’s snow removal as comments to our unrelated 01.29.15 post – seem interested in taking on. Even the beefers offered nothing in that regard, other than for one of them saying he/she doesn’t think we pay high enough taxes here in Park Ridge.
Needless to say, that comment was made anonymously.
But when it comes to most of the things about which Park Ridge residents (and the occasional non-resident parasites) complain, money almost always could make a difference. And often a big difference.
Take snow removal.
According to Public Works Director Wayne Zingsheim (as reported in a 02.03.15 Park Ridge Herald-Advocate article, “Park Ridge mayor questions delay in plowing Uptown lot after blizzard”), City crews worked steadily from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning. But apparently that wasn’t enough to clear even our primary thoroughfares from curb to curb by the time residents had to head to work Monday morning. Or to salt those thoroughfares, plow out the commuter lots on Summit and Fairview, or plow out the Library lot on Prospect.
That ticked off some residents who awakened early Monday morning to shovel their driveways in order to get to the train, only to find no place to park. And those residents who would have taken their kids to the Library in response to the school closings, only to find the Library closed because its lot wasn’t plowed.
Questions should be raised about what was done and not done, when, and why. A number of residents and the H-A article reported that neighboring communities did a much better job than we did in clearing and salting their streets. If that is true, the City’s Public Works Director owes residents some answers.
He also owes them an explanation of why two plows reportedly were already out of service when the blizzard hit – despite a couple of days of advance warning that a heavy snow was on its way – and why three more plows reportedly went down with mechanical problems during the snow removal effort. Frankly, five downed vehicles sound like too many for a properly maintained fleet the size of Park Ridge’s.
Questions also remain about why Park Ridge streets weren’t salted during the first 24 hours of the blizzard, while streets in neighboring communities were salted and noticeably clearer than ours. And we’ve heard a few folks question whether the Super Bowl and/or the running feud between the City and Operating Engineers Local 150 – which represents the City’s Public Works employees and stationed large inflatable rats at City Hall on November 24, 2014, to protest Mayor Dave Schmidt’s and a 5-alderman Council majority’s refusal to roll over for the union in a contract dispute – may have affected not only the availability of City staff but also of the private plowing contractors the City sometimes uses in emergency situations.
One thing the City could do to improve the public’s understanding of this situation is to post on its website a color-coded map showing which thoroughfares and lots have the highest plowing priority and which have lower priorities. At least that way, residents could know where their streets rank and can chart their course around town with the knowledge of what streets are most likely to be passable. Something like that should cost taxpayers next to nothing
But the additional manpower and vehicles it might take to provide 24-hour turnaround times for blizzards such as Sundays will cost a whole lot more than “next to nothing.”
So it’s up to the City – with the Public Works Department taking the lead – to proactively figure out what it would take to do a top-shelf job of snow removal and salting, and what it would cost our taxpayers. Then it’s up to the City Council to proactively discuss that issue and figure out whether the benefits justify those costs.
As part of that process the Public Works Director should be asked to fully account for his department’s performance in this last blizzard.
He should be asked to confirm whether his department had enough salt (and, if not, when did he last ask for more); whether it had enough trucks (and, if not, why not and when did he last ask for more); whether it had enough drivers (and, if not, why not and when did he last ask for more); whether it had enough mechanics (and, if not, why not and when did he last ask for more); and whether it had enough money in its budget to do the jobs it needs to do at the level it needs to do them (and, if not, why not and when did he last ask for more).
He should also be asked to explain things like : (a) which streets are our No. 1 priority streets; (b) when each of them was fully cleared – not just one lane, but at least two lanes if not curb to curb; (c) why the commuter lots weren’t cleared by 6:00 a.m. Monday when commuters started arriving; (d) why the Library lot wasn’t cleared when it could have been expected that there would be a demand for parking due to the schools being closed; and (e) exactly what happened to those 3rd party plows, and how many did the City try to call in?
These questions and discussions should occur right now, while memories of the event are still fresh in everybody’s minds – and while the City is just beginning its budget process and might be able to adjust the budget to address any real or perceived need to provide for additional snow removal expenses. Because whether the answers to all those questions are good, bad, or ugly, snow removal is an issue that should be able to be resolved based on what it would cost to do the job the way it should be done.
And whether the taxpayers believe the benefits justify that cost.
Update (02.05.15) As luck would have it, we just discovered a relatively recent Illinois Appellate Court decision, Patullo-Banks v. City of Park Ridge, 2014 IL App (1st) 1132856 (Sept. 4, 2014), holding that the City can be liable when a pedestrian is struck by a car while walking in the street (Touhy, near 3rd Street) because careless plowing of that street (Touhy) piled an “unnatural accumulation” of ice and snow on the sidewalk, making it impassable; and the City then failed to clear the sidewalk within a reasonable time after it knew or should have known that the sidewalk had become impassable.
So besides clearing the streets, City snow plowers need to be mindful of creating “unnatural accumulations” of snow and ice on City sidewalks that might render such sidewalks impassable.
And the following is a comment from Mayor Schmidt:
I have heard a lot of criticism over the past few days. Some of it is fair, some of it is not, but certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion. Bottom line is that I agree the City could have done better, but I do not agree that it was a major failure, and I know for a fact that it was not the result of City Council action resulting in inadequate funding or supplies.
In response to [the comment from] 4:40 pm, City Hall, meaning the Public Works Director, DID call in private plowers. The fact is they were in extremely high demand, and many simply chose not to answer the call. We also had one PW worker retire the previous Friday, one is on medical leave and one worker did not answer the bell and has been suspended. The claim that the streets were not salted 72 hours later is not true. We learned Tuesday morning, about 30 hours after the storm ended, that PW had started salting the streets on Monday night and have been salting ever since. The problem with salt is that it is ineffective below a certain temperature, so the Monday night salting had little effect until the temperature began rising Tuesday. Another fact that people must understand is that salting while it is still snowing heavily is a waste of time and resources, because the plows will simply push any salt laid down to the side of the road. I did question the PW Director why he did not begin salting earlier on Monday when the sun was out and temperatures were higher. He has admitted that, in retrospect, he should have ordered salting to have begun sooner. He says he has learned from this particular experience and will adjust procedures accordingly.
I cannot address why Library management decided to close on Monday, but I do think that was as multi-departmental mistake. PW should have made the Library lot a priority, primarily for the sake of the Uptown businesses, and the Library should have stayed open on Monday. I am not happy with how that unfolded.
To read or post comments, click on title.
33 comments so far
Well done. I’ve commented already about how awful the snow removal was and always has been in Park Ridge, so I’ll leave it at that.
Since Public Works and their clearly untrained Union employees can’t perform the function of snow removal, why can’t the City Council order a bid put out for private snow removal?
I would look into keep a couple trucks and employees, and then bid out the rest.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thank you.
Because we have never driven a snow plow, we are reluctant to attribute any shortcomings in snow removal to “untrained” drivers. But we hope the City Council at least considers the cost/benefit of the privatization option.
I am curious. Were you at the meeting last evening or, if not, did any of your sources tell you how many “beefers” attended?? I mean the noise must have been deafening, right??
EDITOR’S NOTE: Beefers, especially anonymous ones, never attend meetings. But one of our guilty pleasures is goading, and then mocking, them.
I found it very interesting to drive around the different areas of park ridge the past two days.
Lucky for me, my particular area (touhy-elm / western/dee) was plowed multiple times and the streets were great.
However the area behind the library, south of the train tracks, was a mess. Ditto for the area around the country club. I found terrible conditions on the side streets and messy intersections.
I can’t help but wonder if being so close the Public Works building helped in our favor. It’s not supposed to work that way, I don’t think.
EDITOR’S NOTE: No, it’s not. So maybe it’s just a coincidence.
12:27:
Thanks for your post. Your comment about untrained union employees makes it crystal clear where you were coming from with your previous posts.
How was the meeting last night?? Did you speak up loud and clear???
I was person who indicated swell to transparency. The snow issue was the topic bugging the @#$% out of me that day.
Anyways, wasn’t Mayor Michael Bilandic defeated by candidate Jane Byrne, because the City of Chicago couldn’t get their streets plowed during the blizzards. Mayor Bilandic looked inept at managing the situation.
Why didn’t the City call in private plowers to assist with the snow?
Why aren’t the streets still not salted 72 hours later?
How come the Library management didn’t send out an email to all of its constituents to let them know ahead of time the library would be closed?
Are the Library employees getting paid to stay home or did they have to use vacation time.
The communication from the City is rather poor. Hope to hear some answers from those in charge in tomorrow’s newspaper.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The City reportedly did attempt to call in private plow trucks but had trouble getting responses.
According to Public Works Director Zingsheim (as reported in the H-A article), streets were to have been “salted very heavily” Monday night.
How do you know Library management DIDN’T send out an email to all of “its constituents” to let them know the library would be closed on Monday?
Salaried Library employees should have been paid for Monday, hourly probably not because the did not work due to Act of God, Mother Nature, or karmic interference.
What would you have liked to know from the City that it didn’t tell you?
It was a lot of snow in a short time. Does that excuse what appears to have been a less than good effort by the plowing team? Probably not. The questions you’ve raised are all good ones and hopefully will result in a better plan for snow removal in the future. Sometimes I think it takes an actual event to make the weak spots known, rather than relying on hypothetical scenarios.
How can 5 plows at 1 time not work?
And as for Mr. Zingsheim’s comment,
We’re not really built for snow of the Magnitude.
Why is that.
Wonder how the city did back during the blizzards of 67 and 79?
EDITOR’S NOTE: You can’t economically build and maintain a force to deal with the worst of all contingencies. But City officials still need to be accountable for what was done with the force we had. And five trucks down sounds like a problem that deserves investigation.
I’m sick of this belly aching.
“It could have been better” is an unprovable hypothesis.
The city has been running a bare bones operation for the last 6 years. There is no reserve for abnormal problems (19″ of snow qualifies).
EDITOR’S NOTE: “Bare bones operation”? Nonsense!
But just for grins, what three things would you add/reinstate; and how much should the City’s taxpayers be willing to pay for them?
I am enormously grateful to learn that there are consequences to a city that makes it impossible for pedestrians to safely get anywhere after a snowstorm. They’re the last ones considered in any problematic situation.
Glad somebody called your knee-jerk anti-union reader out. Typically, union folk are likelier to be trained than the private sector employees who got picked up at Home Depot’s parking lot this morning. Or the equivalent. Training costs money, and if you want cheap, you’ll have to do without. Simple. Overall, great post: Fair-minded and practical. Hope the “professionals” at the City follow your prescription.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again, it’s a matter of PRIORITIES. So, yes, pedestrians very well may be the “last ones considered” – most definitely after public transportation and vehicular traffic – because the vast majority of Park Ridge people and non-residents traveling through Park Ridge travel by those means.
But let’s not turn this into a Mother Jones sing-along by assuming facts not in evidence: that the plower who created the “unnatural accumulation” was some quasi-jitney private operator instead of one of Public Works’/Local 150’s finest.
And let’s not overlook the fact that the careless plowing could have been remedied if the plower had notified the City that his/her plowing had blocked the sidewalk; and if the City had reasonably promptly cleared the unnatural accumulation.
Yesterday after I posted my rant with a bunch of questions I was happy to see the salt trucks out during rush hour.
How I know that no emails went out to the users of the library about it being closed is that we have several folks in our family that use the library and have email accounts. None of them received an email. I talked to a couple of neighbors, no email. I talked to folks at the Senior Center, no email.
The Park District alerted us the day before about cancellation of activities, the delays in opening up the Community Center, etc.. To check the website the next day as they would update what classes were canceled.
The Library did not do that; or if they did, they need to update their records.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Are your e-mail accounts registered with the Library?
The Library’s phone message stated it was closed, and there was a notice on the Library’s website.
I have heard a lot of criticism over the past few days. Some of it is fair, some of it is not, but certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion. Bottom line is that I agree the City could have done better, but I do not agree that it was a major failure, and I know for a fact that it was not the result of City Council action resulting in inadequate funding or supplies.
In response to 4:40 pm, City Hall, meaning the Public Works Director, DID call in private plowers. The fact is they were in extremely high demand, and many simply chose not to answer the call. We also had one PW worker retire the previous Friday, one is on medical leave and one worker did not answer the bell and has been suspended. The claim that the streets were not salted 72 hours later is not true. We learned Tuesday morning, about 30 hours after the storm ended, that PW had started salting the streets on Monday night and have been salting ever since. The problem with salt is that it is ineffective below a certain temperature, so the Monday night salting had little effect until the temperature began rising Tuesday. Another fact that people must understand is that salting while it is still snowing heavily is a waste of time and resources, because the plows will simply push any salt laid down to the side of the road. I did question the PW Director why he did not begin salting earlier on Monday when the sun was out and temperatures were higher. He has admitted that, in retrospect, he should have ordered salting to have begun sooner. He says he has learned from this particular experience and will adjust procedures accordingly.
I cannot address why Library management decided to close on Monday, but I do think that was as multi-departmental mistake. PW should have made the Library lot a priority, primarily for the sake of the Uptown businesses, and the Library should have stayed open on Monday. I am not happy with how that unfolded.
Thanks Mayor Dave for commenting and clarifying.
I think that the leadership of the Library has to be held accountable and that goes all the way up to the Trustees. The Trustees should be asking what the heck happened and why. This isn’t rocket surgery, it was just a large snowstorm.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As one of those Library trustees, this editor firmly believes that “the leadership of the Library has to be held accountable” for the Library being closed Sunday and Monday, and that includes the trustees.
There appears to be no Library policy for dealing with blizzards, so that leaves the decision of whether or not to close the Library in response to blizzards (or any other weather issue) at the discretion of the Executive Director, who did make the blizzard closure decisions. Since the trustees are accountable for the performance of the Executive Director, however, should we:
a. fire the Executive Director for those closure decisions;
b. reprimand her for those closure decisions;
c. reward her for those closure decisions; or
d. something else that you will suggest?
Also can anyone explain how Devon Ave. westbound was plowed and not eastbound?
EDITOR’S NOTE: That particular plow driver was making an anti-Chicago statement?
Not knowing who the Executive Director is, or that person’s ability, no anonymous poster can make a fair assessment on how the situation was handled.
Obvious a course of action would be to establish policy and protocols for dealing with weather related situations.
The Executive Director may have totally made the correct call given the situation. Perhaps everyone called in and there was not enough staff to operate the Library. Maybe the power went out and Com Ed couldn’t come out timely enough to fix the issue.
I don’t know what the right answer is. I do know that we get snow, 100 year rains, power outages, etc..
I would like to see an explanation for why the decision was made to be closed posted at the exit as the patrons leave. It could be in the form of an apology. It could be in the form of this is what happened and why the decision was made.
Here is a fact: Starbucks across the street didn’t open until the early afternoon. Einstein bagels opened a little bit later than 5am. Those businesses don’t make money if they aren’t open.
The Library doesn’t lose money if it stays close. Sure it still pays salaries, but who is affected? The tax payer and/or the library user. By 3pm that day the library could have opened had the lot been plowed.
All I request is that the folks that run the library understand the custom service aspect of the institution they operate
EDITOR’S NOTE: If “no anonymous poster can make a fair assessment on how the situation was handled,” then there’s no reason to give any weight to an anonymous poster’s desire for “an explanation for why the decision was made to be closed,” or “an apology,” or a statement of “this is what happened and why the decision was made.”
Frankly, given the blizzard conditions only a bonehead would go to the Library without either calling or checking the website to see if it was open. So while adding a blast e-mail might have been the kind of belt, suspenders AND duct tape service that our increasingly bubble-wrapped citizenry seems to want, we don’t think the failure to provide such deserves any “apology” or whatever else an anonymous poster might want.
But this editor, in his Library trustee role, has suggested that a discussion of e-mail notification be added to this coming Tuesday night’s Library COW meeting – 7:00 p.m. in the Library’s 3rd Floor conference room. So if it means all that much too you, feel free to stop by and share.
Of all the stupid whiny crap. You are shocked that the library is closed after a 19inch snow storm. Every school in PR and the entire freaking area (cook and lake county) was closed. Exactly what did you have to do at the library on that exact day? Those must have been some really important copies.
You want private plowers. How do you think that works out in a storm of this magnitude?? Private plowers do not have the equipment and are not staffed to handle this kind of storm either. Ask Starbucks. They were closed that morning. That sidewalk area was buried and that is done by private companies, not the city.
You have a storm that has a demand for service that cannot be met by private companies or by public works. As PD stated correctly, you cannot staff or build a system to handle a storm that is this big. I would be not only costly but just plain stupid.
So elected officials should take a look for legitimate areas to improve. They should also put cotton in their ears to tune out all the whiners.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We agree with you that there’s more than a little whine-y-ness going around on this matter, but we do need to correct you on your assertion that we “stated correctly [that] you cannot staff or build a system to handle a storm that is this big.” What we said was:
“You can’t economically build and maintain a force to deal with the worst of all contingencies. But City officials still need to be accountable for what was done with the force we had. And five trucks down sounds like a problem that deserves investigation.”
its snow…a lot came down, you cant fool w mother nature. Quit complaining about how bad the streets looked. Everybody was able to drive on the main drags and side streets after 19 inches of snowfall. So what if the streets weren’t perfect within 24 hrs…try enjoying the event for once..play hookie from work or school and ski, sled, snowmobile, or just make a snowman or have an old fashioned snowball fight. If you hate the city plow drivers so much….peg their trucks w snowballs and stop whining everybody. There are worse things and more important issues going on in the world..so go sip your starbucks coffee and think about that.
Re: Pub Dog response to 1:20
Firing the Exec. Director of the library is probably a bit harsh and her decision is definitely not worthy of reward. That leaves b or d. What did she base her decision on? Was it that most of the staff scheduled to work would be unable to get to work? Had she heard from any of the staff who expressed a concern about getting to work? What areas of the library could be open with less than full staff? Did she talk to anyone on the Board about what would be the appropriate action to take? What precedent is there for closing due to climate issues? Was there any thought of opening late instead of not opening at all?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Good choices re (a) and (c). And great questions, which you should present this coming Tuesday night at the Library Board’s COW meeting: 7:00 p.m. in the Library’s 3rd floor conference room.
I left for work at about 5am on Monday morning and was easily able to navigate the streets. Considering the circumstances, I found the road conditions to be very good. Perfect? Of course not. I can’t speak to the conditions in the library lot etc but I drive into Chicago every day and if you think PR was bad you should have seen the side streets in the city.
Making a simple phone call could help anyone determine if the library was open. If that is too much for the pampered set and they get to the library only to find it closed, instead of crying and stomping their feet, they could somehow overcome the unbearable burden foisted upon them by this minor setback and do something else.
You are not entitled to have everything perfect at all times. It was a major snowstorm, a few struggles are to be expected. Could the city have done better? Sure, but all things considered, it wasn’t too bad.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We concur.
Given the number of train commuters Park Ridge has, however, we believe the commuter lots along Summit and on Fairview deserved some kind of priority, if only to make them usable (e.g., plowed late Sunday night so that by 6:00 a.m. Monday morning they might have had only a six-inch snow cover instead of the 12-15 inch cover they appeared to have – assuming a commuter could have steered his/her Camry, Accord or Sienna over or through the plowing-created wall of unnaturally accumulated ice and snow that was guarding those lots.
so let me get this straight: i got to pay for library staff to take monday off (who i bet live close to or in Park Ridge), while i got up at 4:30 am on monday to allow extra time and drove downtown to work for an 8 am meeting? sounds about par for the course in PR and why the city, schools, etc are in the state they are
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, you get to pay for the salaried employees who did not work on Monday, just like you don’t have to pay them overtime when they work more than their 35-40 hour weeks. That’s how it works with salaried employees. As for the hourly employees, we don’t believe you paid for them to take the day off.
Interesting, how nobody, including the Mayor, is mentioning firing anybody for all the dereliction of duty and bad decision-making that went on in not plowing properly, including the Library lot. But you just can’t wait to offer a key element of your long-held agenda, to get rid of the Library’s staff leadership, in hopes that some other hateful Philistines like you will say, “yeah! That’s the solution to all our problems!” I wonder if Park Ridge residents understand that, as a Mayoral appointee (with the collusion of a couple of like-minded aldermice), people like you who loathe the public sector in general and despise the Library in particular cannot be removed from your much-abused office on the Library Board. So every day, you get to do what you can to undermine the Library referendum the voters just passed. In even putting out there that the Library’s director should be fired for closing during the blizzard, with the Library lot unplowed, you are showing your true colors. And they’re not pretty ones.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Whoa…time for you to go back and check out the Zapruder film and that grassy knoll in Dallas.
We don’t “loathe the public sector in general,” nor do we venerate it the way folks like you do. We just try to hold it to roughtly the same standards as the private sector.
We also don’t “despise the Library,” generally or “in particular.” We just want it to be better, and serve a larger segment of the taxpayers who finance it, than it currently is and does.
Finally, you need to have your “sarcasm” gene checked, because even the Big Bang Theory’s “Sheldon Cooper” would have recognized the sarcasm of our Editor’s Note about having the Library’s executive director fired for closing the Library; or at least he would have figured it out after reading our “Editor’s Note” to the 02.05.15 @ 9:54 pm comment.
11:10:
Your comment is a perfect example of the absurd bitterness gone awry related to public employees. I am not saying that some of this anger is not deserved but you are even pissed that salaried employees get their salary an a snow day?!?!
Give me a break. That is the way salary works. Just like when my banker sneaks off to an afternoon Cubs game. He does not get docked any part of his salary. Ya see that is par for the course all over the world. But go ahead and bitch about it. How about you demand that all pr public employees be hourly wage??
“Whoa” is right. “[D]ereliction of duty” is way over the top. The storm ended at 4am Monday morning. Public Works made the decision a few hours later, after consulting with the Library’s Exec, to keep plowing streets instead of doing the Library lot. It was staff’s call to decide when and where to allocate the City’s resources. The fact that I or someone else might have allocated them differently hardly rises to the level of dereliction of duty.
Each of our units of local government should constantly strive to do a better job, or the same job at lower cost to the taxpayers. And the elected officials overseeing those local government units need to do their best to make that happen, and not just blindly take the employees’ word that we got the best.
Of course if they would have spent considerable time clearing the library parking lot the posts would read…….”Why were they clearing a library lot when I could not even get down the road…..bitch….moan….wimper….whine…..”.
Again, there was nothing unique about this storm compared to any other large snow we have had in the past. Did you all forget last year so fast??Things do not clear up in 24 hours. It takes a little time.
As I previously suggested folks, if road conditions like this (they were not that bad) for 24-36 hours after a big storm make you this crazy, it’s time to strongly consider a move south. Life is too short.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As the old joke goes, tie a snow shovel onto the back of your car, head south, and stop when you get to where people ask: “What’s that?”
I returned some books on Monday around 8:30am and it seemed like the Library walks and entrance had the snow cleared. I don’t understand why opening late, like some other local Libraries did, wasn’t an option.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The decision was made by the Library’s Executive Director. If you want to achieve an understanding of why that decision was made, you should attend this Tuesday night’s Library COW meeting – 7:00 p.m. in the Library’s 3rd Floor meeting room.
Forget about the snow fall, it is just a blip in time.
You have held public office before, how come you do not run again?
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are referring to this editor, he ran for the Park Board twice and won (1997 and 2001); served 8 years (1997-2005); and chose not to run for a third term because he had set a two-term limit for himself, believing that other public-spirited citizens deserved the honor and privilege of serving on that Board.
Since then, he has chosen to spend his free time with this blog; and, since 2011, serving as a Library trustee.
The better question would be why more of the 40-50 regular commentators to this blog – and the folks who post on the “Park Ridge Citizens Online” and “Park Ridge Concerned Homeowners Group” Facebook pages – aren’t doing their civic duty by running.
Perhaps it is time to replace the PW director.
AJ
EDITOR’S NOTE: That’s a decision for the well-paid City Manager, who seems to be MIA and leaving it to the elected officials to sort out what happened with snow removal.
Well all I can say is THANK GOD that the walks were clear enough for John to be able to return his books at 8:30 on Monday morning. Another crisis averted in Park Ridge. I mean think about if those books had not made it back to the library until, oh I don’t know…lets say, Tuesday. Can you even imagine??? The horror….The horror.
Get a grip folks.
Dear Anon 02.07.15 11:21AM;
I was simply stating a fact about the walks being cleared and asking a valid question.
It’s beyond disingenuous for you to claim you were joking about a move that’s utterly plausible. Especially to any reader who knows your stance on things.
EDITOR’S NOTE: And you’re beyond “Sheldon Cooper” cluelessness when it comes to sarcastic responses to stupid comments.
John:
You also wondered if consideration was made to a half day. What I see going on here is a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking. Frankly, while I agree that staff as well as the council should lean from events like this, I find most of these questions to be just plain silly.
According to a post by the Mayor above, apparently the decision was made early in the morning after a dialogue between the library exec and public works. At that time, Prospect was a nightmare. The starbucks across the street did not open (that is my normal first stop of the day) and not only was the parking lot not plowed but the parking along prospect was not yet usable.
The library exec had to make a call. Now one can look back and ask why was this not considered but, based on the data available at the time, the decision to not open the library was hardly off the charts or even unreasonable.
I gotta say this the, sidewalks at Oakton and Dee at the crosswalks (near the Metra) are still impassible. Not accessible by any means.
EDITOR’S NOTE: And we’ve just gotta say that unless those sidewalks are “impassible” because of an “unnatural accumulation” of ice and snow – i.e., put there by the City – then it’s not the City’s problem. But if you think it’s the City’s problem, call the Public Works Dept. and complain.
Seriously? Whose problem is it, then?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Legally, in the absence of an “unnatural accumulation” it’s neither the City’s nor the owner of the property on which the sidewalk is located.
So that would leave the pedestrian’s and God’s.
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