INDIANAPOLIS — Plow drivers will be focusing their efforts on residential streets for the next 24 hours.
If you park on the street, make sure you "hug the curb" as much as you can. If possible, try to park on an off-street location so you don't get trapped in a snow mound.
It will also help drivers like Venson Stewart at the Department of Public Works do his job. Employees like him were finishing their shifts Thursday night at 11 and were back at it Friday morning. Stewart started with 16-hour shifts and is now working 12 hours at a time.
He said now that it's not snowing, the salt will be able to do its job better, and it will be much easier than Thursday.
“Last night, with all that precipitation, you can't see and just as fast as you plow, it's covered right up in a matter of minutes,” Stewart said. “Pay attention, look ahead when you're driving, because you can still see these wet roads and it seems like you pick up a little bit of speed and bam just like that, you're gonna catch an over drift.”
Many residents were still digging their way out of their driveways while waiting for those plows to hit their streets.
“Since the snow stopped, we have a chance to recover and get ourselves shoveled out,” said Raymond Ball.
Ball said he hasn’t left his house since the snow started.
“I put my car in my garage Wednesday night, and it is going to sit there until I have to go out, probably no earlier than tomorrow,” he said.
But for those that got on the road, it was not an easy task.
“The side roads have been tough. Even walking around the neighborhood it’s hard to get through some of the intersections. It’s not easy,” said one Indianapolis neighbor.
That’s why on Friday, the city shifted its focus to residential streets, where Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said 172 contractors will work on 4,400 lane miles of residential roads. That's beyond the 4,000 road miles that are maintained under standard Department of Public Works routes.
Hogsett dropped by the Department of Public Works Friday to thank drivers during a shift change.
"While the contracted plows will help us finish out the event, I cannot say enough and certainly cannot forget the women and the men of Indy DPW's Snow Force, who have really been in this from the very beginning," Hogsett said.
It’s much-needed help that neighbors like Terra Pickett have been waiting for. On Friday, she spent more than 20 minutes trying to get her van up her driveway. She's grateful one of her neighbors came to help, but they still couldn’t get it up the steep incline.
“Obviously, as you can see, it was hard to get down our street, let alone our driveway,” Pickett said. “I know the crews are doing the best they can, so hopefully they will be along soon and get our street plowed.”
Residents share some snow removal responsibility with the city. They have a duty to clear the area around their mailboxes and the sidewalks in front of their residences, businesses, or other properties, even if these spaces are technically in the public right-of-way.
Clearing the area around fire hydrants also helps fire crews respond more quickly if they need access to the hydrant to put out fires.
While worker shortages continue in nearly every business, DPW said every one of their trucks had a plow on it and a driver. Crews worked overtime to take care of 4,500 miles of street lanes in Indianapolis.
“I'd like to thank the residents of the city of Indianapolis who actually heeded the warnings to stay off the street. As Steve said, our drivers reported that people were very respectful of the drivers,” said DPW Director Dan Parker.
Stewart had to help one of his own get out of a mess Thursday when the snow plow driver made a wide turn and went into an embankment.
Plows will make one pass on residential streets. Residents are expected to clear their sidewalks, as it is not part of the city's responsibility.
If you feel like your street should have been done and it hasn't, you should call the Mayor's Action Center. However, give them some time.
Trash service stopped Thursday and Friday. Those impacted will get extra pick-up next week on their regularly scheduled day.
After this cleanup, which DPW expects to have substantially done by sunset on Saturday, the new problem becomes the potholes because of the drop in temperatures. People are encouraged to call the Mayor's Action Center if they spot one.
“We have to do this mess, and then we pick up the other mess and keep the complaints down and the tires from being busted. That’s pretty much our job,” Stewart said.