Case Date:

1/25/2014

As a 25-year-old recent IU Bloomington graduate and current resident of Bloomington, I have seen many problems with the snow removal and road maintenance over the past six years of my residence here. But it wasn't until I began working full-time on the west side of town, commuting daily from Seventeenth Street to Liberty Drive (by way of 45/46 and 37), that I realized just how much of a problem this town has with snow removal. First of all, I'm originally from Northwest Indiana, where snowfall accumulates to more than 3 feet at times and does not have a chance to melt down overnight before another snow fall. My hometown gets lake-effect snow on top of naturally occurring snowfall from the months of November well into early March. This weather does not faze our road workers, nor does it deter our drivers. None of us need chains on our tires, plows and salt of our own, or large SUVs with expensive, winter-weather tires to get to work or to school. Because our roads are plowed and salted before we even wake up in the morning. This is why I find it ridiculous that I cannot get to work, schools are closed and most businesses are closed when there are merely three to four inches of snow on the ground. This just blows my mind. As a full-time employee of a large company located on the West side of town, I commute from near the football stadium to the bypass and onto 37, before using West Second Street to complete my morning drive. When I cannot safely make it to work in the morning, it is a shame. I almost find it laughable that this large, thriving city with so much to offer cannot sufficiently provide for its residents a simple task such as plowing and salting the roads. I'd like to reference the snippet provided on the city's street department website as an example of my bone to pick: "The Street Department is in charge of keeping the City of Bloomington's streets free of ice and snow during inclement weather. Whenever there is a danger of icy or snowy conditions on the roadways of the city, the Street Department will monitor conditions and respond accordingly. When snow or ice begins accumulating on the streets, plowing and/or salting operations will commence." Compared to other cities I've visited in the Midwest, the street department here seems lazy and inept to say the very least. In my hometown, the plows work all night, or at least begin working at 4 a.m. They don't wait for snow to "begin accumulating on the streets" until they *actually* do something, unlike what is written in the description of Bloomington's street department website. I realize budgets are tight and have likely already been set for 2014, as far as city services are concerned. But some re-organization of services, I feel, is in order. Some suggestions for improvement of this essential city service would be to prepare accordingly for bad weather by salting the roads prior to snowfall and ice accumulation. This way, as the snow and ice melts during the early hours of the evening, the salt will help to prevent ice from forming on major intersections (such as 45/46 and North Walnut Street, where I almost slid into a full spin this morning while making a turn at 10 miles per hour) and major roadways like Highway 45/46 and Highway 37. Last night, at 6 p.m. when I got home from work, I already had a winter weather advisory pop up on my phone that stated snow accumulation was possible throughout the night, and that ice was possible as well. If I'm just a basic resident receiving this notification, then surely a city employee of the street department would receive it. Or *should* receive it. Another suggestion would be to employ plows that will work at 4:30 in the morning, or earlier, to ensure the roads are clear. I feel this is imperative. Most people who work in this city cannot get to work at 7 a.m., let alone 8 or 9 a.m. on some days, because absolutely *nothing* has been done to ensure the safety of the roads during snowy/icy weather. This causes people to miss work, students to miss important classes and city businesses to lose customers and money. When it all is said and done, I cannot believe that this city cannot take well enough care of its roads - preventative care - to ensure the safety of its roads, when other cities have the ability to clear and salt and prepare for this weather (exponentially worse weather) without breaking a sweat. This isn't just a northern Indiana person speaking, this is a Bloomington resident speaking. And I would rather not have to call off work for a measly 3 inches of snow, when I can remember going to school as a child when there were 3 feet of snow on the ground - because the streets were clear. Thank you for hearing me out and I hope something can be done. Sincerely, Amanda Jacobson