The first full day of residential street clearing in Emporia was “tough,” according to Public Works Director Dean Grant.
High temperatures in the mid-30s and abundant sunshine didn’t do much to crack the current snowpack across town, so Grant is hoping warmer temperatures — highs in the low 40s Thursday and mid-40s Friday — will help the process.
City Manager Trey Cocking says the move to send snowplows into residential areas is rare but needed after
up to half an inch of ice, 5-plus inches of snow and air temperatures near zero Jan. 4-5 was followed by another 2-3 inches of snowfall Jan. 9-10. Cocking says crews started with the residential collector streets — the more heavily traveled residential streets like Prairie Street, South Avenue, 12th and 15th — before moving into neighborhoods. The goal is to get residential streets back to normal condition before sharply cooler air moves into the area starting Saturday.
Plow drivers still want side streets to have any parked vehicles moved off those streets, but he also recognizes there are areas where the only option is to park on a street. Plows will work around parked vehicles, although they may have to push the snow more towards those vehicles, depending on the situation. People may also have to clear their driveways, depending on the clearing effort.
