The City sent out this announcement this morning at 6 a.m.:
Residential plowing is completed and 90% of alleys are being reported as plowed. The Snow Route Parking Ban is no longer in effect.
Even though residential plowing is completed, I’m told District 150 buses are still unable to traverse the residential streets, and that’s why school was cancelled today.
A public meeting is planned for the East Village Growth Cell TIF, and a majority of the City Council may be there:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A MAJORITY OF A QUORUM OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS, HAVE BEEN INVITED AND MAY ATTEND AN EAST VILLAGE GROWTH CELL TIF PUBLIC MEETING TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND GATHER PUBLIC COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND THE DESIGNATION OF A PROPOSED REDEVEOPMENT [sic] PROJECT AREA TO BE KNOWN AS THE EAST VILLAGE GROWTH CELL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7,2011, AT 6:00 P.M. AT THE GLEN OAK COMMUNITY CENTER, 2100 N. WISCONSIN AVENUE, PEORIA, ILLINOIS.
NOTE: NO OFFICIAL ACTION WILL BE TAKEN BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
I received this update from the City of Peoria this afternoon:
Crews have worked throughout the day to clear residential streets. They are also focusing on the alley’s, which are fifty percent complete. City streets are still snow packed and ice covered. Drivers are encouraged to drive with caution because roads are slippery. With the cold temperatures expected overnight, road salt is not effective so please drive carefully.
Orange Prairie Road, off of Allen Road, has drifted shut. Crews will open this road overnight.
The Snow Route Parking Ban is still in effect and will remain in effect at least until tomorrow morning.
How long do you think the City will try to open “Orange Prairie Road, off of Allen Road” before they realize those roads don’t actually cross?
Update: Answer to my last question is about 13 minutes. Just got this update: “Orange Prairie Road, off of War Memorial Drive, has drifted shut. Crews will open this road overnight.”
From District 150:
For the safety of our students, all district schools will be closed on Friday, February 4, 2011. All events and activities are cancelled for Friday. This closure will guarantee that school buses will be able to safely transport students on Monday. Please check the district website www.psd150.org for further information.
All 12 month employees are to report to work as scheduled on Friday. If 12 month employees have personal safety concerns due to weather or road conditions, please plan to use a vacation day.
Thank you for your cooperation.
District 150 announced this afternoon that “Due to weather and road conditions, Peoria Public Schools will be closed on Thursday, February 3, 2011.”
I have to admit, I’m really surprised by this announcement, which I received via e-mail this afternoon from the District. Given that it hasn’t snowed any more since early this morning, and the City crews have been working around the clock, I really expected things to be clear enough by tomorrow that the buses could get through and school would be back in session. But I’m not complaining, either. It won’t hurt to give the City another day to get things cleaned up before the kids go back.
City update 6:44 a.m., 2/2/2011:
A blizzard warning is in effect.
Contract and city crews continued to plow streets overnight, with the intent of maintaining one lane of traffic.
Our area has received a large amount of snow during the night with significant drifting from high winds. We urge you not to travel. It is very unlikely that anyone will reach their destination if an attempt to travel is made. If you do go out, please use caution and call ahead to make sure that the place you are attempting to reach is open.
Abandoned vehicles that are stuck in the street will compromise the City’s attempt to plow the streets. Police have begun to tow cars off of streets that still remain on designated snow routes.
If you have issues related to your street, the public works call center can be reached by calling 494-8850.
The Parking Ban is still in effect.
City update 7:31 a.m., 2/2/2011:
Our Emergency Communications Center has remained busy throughout the storm with calls from stuck motorists who are trapped in their vehicles. They utilized all means to get to them; Police, Fire, County Highway, IDOT, Public Works; even the Army National Guard. In many instances, the responders themselves got stuck trying to help the citizens.
Our 9-1-1 count for yesterday was 366. Our non-emergency phone calls totaled over 750 calls. A quick count shows our incoming calls were well over 1,100.
The ECC was struck by lightning at 8:45 p.m. last night. This caused our main police radios and several phone consoles, along with some other equipment to go down. Vendors were called in and worked until 3:00 a.m. to restore full service. No calls or service was lost as we used our back up systems.
In front of a crowd of 1,000, the Bradley Braves finally won their first conference game of the season against Creighton, 69-61. Now Bradley’s record is 1-11. I guess that’s the secret to helping Bradley win: don’t watch.
Lots of closings. I got an e-mail from the City announcing that the Shoppes at Grand Prairie, Northwoods Mall, and Junction City have all closed early today, and will be closed all or most of the day tomorrow, too.
Meanwhile, my parents wrote me today from Florida. It’s 79 and sunny there. I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Update on City crews clearing the streets:
City crews, along with snow removal contractors, are plowing primary and residential streets. Crews will attempt to maintain one driving lane on most primary streets and one lane down the center of residential streets wide enough for emergency equipment.
This afternoon and over night, snow fall rates could possibly increase to 3-5 inches an hour, causing snow to accumulate very quickly. Maintaining one lane of travel is intended for essential emergency travel only during this period.
Citizens are advised not to travel. Blizzard conditions will continue for several hours, and it is unlikely that most vehicles will be able to travel on hills or inclines.
If possible move cars from residential streets. A Parking Ban is in effect until further notice. Citizens will help snow removal efforts by not plowing or shoveling snow into the street.
From the District 150 website:
Updated at 3:30 p.m. on February 1, 2011 — Due to inclement weather, all Peoria Public Schools and Administrative Offices will be closed on Wednesday, February 2, 2011.
Good decision. It’s not going to be pretty tomorrow.
The City of Peoria has issued the following press release regarding the Big Snow Storm of 2011:
NEWS RELEASE
Date: January 31, 2011
Released by: Alma Brown, Communications Manager, 494-8554
Subject: SNOW STORM PREPARATIONThe National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning from 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, through Noon on Wednesday. There are several details that we would like the public to be aware of in advance of the snow storm.
The City of Peoria will declare a parking ban effective 8:00 a.m., on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. If you live on a snow route, please begin moving your cars so that crews will be able to adequately plow the streets. Parking on a designated snow routes is prohibited until the ban is lifted. The fine for parking on a snow route during a parking ban is $200. Notices regarding the parking ban will be displayed on billboards throughout the city.
City crews will focus on clearing primary streets (snow routes) throughout the storm. It is imperative that we keep major thoroughfares open, therefore, residential streets will not be plowed until the snow routes have been cleared.
Please do not travel unless it is necessary. If you must travel, please have an emergency car care kit in your vehicle and carry a cell phone.
When you start the process of shoveling snow from your property, please do not blow or shovel the snow into the street. This just hampers our ability to clear snow from the streets. We would also like for owners of commercial property to be sure that snow cleared from their property remains on their location.
If you have an emergency, please call 911. Please do not call 911 to ask about snow operations.
We will open an emergency command center at Noon tomorrow.
Once the snow event starts, the City will open a call center to address calls relating to snow removal. The call center can be reached by calling 494-8850. Periodic updates can also be received by calling the snow update hotline at (309) 494-8830. Citizens are encouraged to log onto the City’s website at www.ci.peoria.il.us and sign up for e-alerts. Storm updates will be sent out via e-mail citizens throughout the day. We will keep the public informed by providing updates to the media twice a day. Storm updates can also be found on the City’s website and on a crawl going across Channel 22.
A detailed snow plan map can be viewed by going to the City’s website: www.ci.peoria.il.us/snow.
PDC Services residential routes may be delayed due to expected weather conditions for Central Illinois. PDC officials will make a determination on Tuesday morning at 9:00 a. m. if garbage trucks will operate or not on Wednesday, February 1, 2011. The decision will be based on driving conditions and driver safety. We ask all customers to place trash in an accessible place on the scheduled collection day.
I received a nice letter from Business PAC of Central Illinois (Biz PAC) yesterday — this is the political action committee that used to be known as the Chamber PAC and was directly affiliated with the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce. Now it’s just legally separate, but all the same people are involved, so nothing substantive has changed. Here’s what they said:
Thank you for participating in the Business PAC of Central Illinois survey and interview process. We very much appreciate your time and information, not to mention the commitment and energy running for office requires from you and your family. After careful consideration, we will not be supporting your candidacy at this time. We wish you well in your campaign.
This comes as no surprise. The Chamber has consistently advocated for non-essential projects involving vast sums of taxpayer money while actively lobbying against revenue enhancements for essential services such as police and fire protection. For example, they lobbied against raising property taxes to pay for police and fire protection just a few years ago, but have supported efforts to raise sales taxes both for the museum and the downtown hotel. I didn’t expect my basic-services platform would be very attractive to this group.
Nevertheless, as I told them in my questionnaire and interview, I believe my platform is business-friendly. “Safe streets and improved infrastructure benefit everyone in the City. When public services and incentives are provided in a fair and equitable manner, they give businesses an even playing field and set the table for economic development. Furthermore, by limiting government to its core function, taxes can be kept low.”