Milwaukee residents wait days for snow removal: 'Where's the plow?'
MILWAUKEE - The weekend snowstorm made for a wild ride on the highways. In the days since, certain Milwaukee streets have been messy, leaving residents to ask: Where's the plow?
One homeowner on the city's south side told FOX6 News that, despite the storm starting Saturday, the first Department of Public Works (DPW) plow rolled through around 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Some areas of Milwaukee saw attention right away, either by residents on their own accord or with help from city plows.
On the south side, Brad Brown said the plows never came, and he and his neighbors grew tired of waiting.
Snow removal Tuesday, Feb. 2 on Milwaukee's south side
"We just want relief. When is the plow gonna get here? Where's the plow? Where's the plow?" Brown said.
Care tires were still spinning through several inches of snow on Tuesday afternoon. In other neighborhoods around the city, like Bay View, though, streets are mostly clear.
"I can't think of a rational reason why that would happen other than an inequitable distribution of resources and time," said Brown.
The DPW did send a front-end loader to work on Brown's street -- something neighbor
"I was in New Berlin just yesterday, and their streets were beautiful. I mean like it's safe to drive," said Colindres. "Then coming back down here, I gotta put the 4x4 on the truck and try to make sure that everything's fine."
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Residents said they feel the DPW needs a better plan to accommodate neighborhoods with tighter streets, just as more snow heads our way Thursday. The DPW is asking for patience.
In a statement to FOX6, DPW Commissioner Jeff Polenske said his team is still working around the clock to clear the city's 7,000 lane miles.
Department of Public Works continues to actively clear the 7,000 lane miles that exist throughout the city of Milwaukee, with a round the clock operation that began Saturday night. We recognize the public’s urgency to get back to normal, but this winter storm was anything but normal. We are up against Mother Nature, and she has hit us with the deepest snow we’ve seen in a decade. The magnitude of this storm created some unique challenges for addressing some of our narrow and highly parked streets. In many cases we had to deploy special equipment that was small enough to navigate the narrow space resulting in an extended clearing operation. We appreciate the public’s patience as we continue to deploy all available personnel and equipment to tackle these severe conditions. We also ask for the public’s assistance by complying with the City’s winter parking regulations so that we can plow the streets in the most effective and timely manner.
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