Immediately after the storm, I was pretty impressed with the city’s response. In fact, I’ve been kind of defending them to some people who have been more critical. I mentioned the fact that snowstorms this big are uncommon (the last one was in 1999), so it’s unrealistic to expect the city to maintain the manpower and equipment for a storm of this size when it happens so infrequently and the budget is so tight. Also, my alley was plowed (a single pass) within 24 hours of the storm, which made me happy and allowed me to get into work Saturday.

But now it’s Monday — day three following the storm — and there hasn’t been any precipitation or even much wind the last few days. I was out last night and the roads, while plowed and passable, were still horrendous. You couldn’t travel along University much over 15 mph (although there were plenty of idiots who tried and were fishtailing all over the place), and most of the roads were packed down snow and ice with lots of pits and ruts. Road conditions were so bad that District 150 canceled school again today.

Yet, conversely, I’ve heard a lot of anecdotal reports that streets in East Peoria and Pekin are clear and easily driveable, and I believe school is in session in those communities today. So, if that’s true, why is Peoria still such a mess? The excuse I’m hearing more than anything is that public works crews were slowed by a number of stuck and abandoned cars on the roads. For instance, here’s what Mayor Ardis said in today’s “Word on the Street” column:

“I’d say the biggest part of the problem – they told people not to go out Friday unless absolutely necessary and some people still went out and got stuck. Then the plows can’t get around them.”

So, does that mean no one went out and got stuck in East Peoria or Pekin this past weekend? Here’s another excuse:

Also, Ardis said he was getting some complaints about Knoxville Avenue not being clear.

“People scream about Knoxville, but they should know it’s a state road. That’s not part of our thing,” said Ardis, adding he’s sure the state was doing the best it could given the circumstances.

But Route 24 is also maintained by the state, and I’ve heard that that route specifically is clearer across the river than it is in Peoria. So, the state did a better job of clearing their routes across the river than they did here?

In fairness, I haven’t been across the river to see these roads for myself, so I could be the victim of “bad intelligence,” as they say in the military. However, if the information I’ve been hearing is true, I have a feeling the City of Peoria is going to catch a lot of flack in the coming days — maybe even at tomorrow’s council meeting.