After 19.3 inches of snow fell at O’Hare International Airport Sunday during a blizzard, Des Plaines, Glenview and Park Ridge residents were digging out slowly.
While main streets in neighboring Niles and Chicago were largely clear of snow and ice Monday morning, many Park Ridge roads remained snow-packed. Sidewalks, too, were largely inaccessible, and pedestrians could be seen walking along major streets.
City-owned parking lots, including those that serve the library, Summit Mall and businesses along South Northwest Highway in Uptown remained unplowed on Monday, forcing drivers to create their own spaces or avoid the lots altogether. Commuter parking lots, also maintained by the city, were snow-covered as well Monday.
Because of an unavailable parking lot, the Park Ridge Library was closed for two days and was not plowed until later in the day on Monday.
“Public Works staff are busy clearing our streets and will not be able to plow the lot until tonight,” signs on the front door of the library read.
In Glenview, Public Works crews on Tuesday were still digging out from under the 19.5 inches of snow that blanketed the village and shuttered local schools the day before.
“With the forecast calling for more snow soon, our crews are out on the residential streets today, re-plowing and salting to get down to bare pavement,” Glenview Public Works Director Jerry Burke said on Tuesday.
While Burke said the heavy snowfall at the height of the storm led to vehicles that were stuck, and in some cases stranded, local schools re-opened on Tuesday and village crews continued to tackle towering snow piles along roadsides.
“We’re pushing back the corners to widen intersections where the snow is packed high to improve visibility,” Burke said.
On Sunday morning in Park Ridge, Public Works Director Wayne Zingsheim said five pieces of city equipment related to snow removal were broken down and the department was having difficulty calling in additional non-city help to supplement efforts by city crews, according to an email sent to elected officials.
At the height of the storm, Zingsheim also said crews would not be salting unless the streets become “too slick.”
On Sunday, emergency crews responded to a number of motorist assists after vehicles became stuck in heavy snow, said Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen.
“Our officers spent quite a bit of time helping people push their cars out,” he said.
A message posted on the city’s website stated that garbage and recycling pickup would be delayed for one day, resuming on Tuesday. Des Plaines also delayed its garbage and recycling pickup.
Zingsheim said he had to prioritize plowing assignments and deemed clearing side streets a higher priority than the library parking lot. Moreover, because the department doesn’t have enough manpower to have two full shifts, he said he had to juggle work assignments to avoid having most employees off on mandated rest periods.
Snow plow crews worked throughout Sunday and overnight into Monday, Zingsheim told aldermen during Monday’s City Council meeting.
They finished plowing Monday afternoon and began spreading salt on Monday night, he said, adding that salting the streets before plowing would not have helped since any salt laid down would have been swept up by following plows.
“We do the best we can. It stopped snowing at 4 a.m. and we’ll have all this cleared out by tomorrow,” Zingsheim said Monday night.
The storm overwhelmed available equipment and crews, Zingsheim said. While the city’s fleet of plow-equipped trucks can handle snowfalls of up to between 12 inches and 15 inches, “we’re not really built for a storm of this magnitude,” he said.
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Several school districts in the area closed Monday.
Among the districts closed for the day were Park Ridge-Niles School District 64, Maine Township High School District 207 and Township High School District 214, which re-opened its facilities at 3 p.m. for voluntary varsity team practices, rehearsals, events and competitions.
According to District 214’s website, “no students will be penalized for not participating in any voluntary practice or rehearsal.”
Young Adult Program and Community Education classes remained canceled for Monday night.
Along with classes, District 207 also canceled its board of education’s regular meeting that had been scheduled for Monday night. According to the district website, the meeting will be rescheduled.
A spokesman for the National Weather Service’s regional office in Romeoville said the official measurement is 19.3 inches at O’Hare Airport. No observations were reported from either Park Ridge or Des Plaines, he added.
Park Ridge Mayor David Schmidt said he drove on Sunday from Park Ridge to Norridge, Chicago’s Northwest side, Evanston and back, and that Park Ridge’s streets were, for the most part, in good shape considering the conditions. Noting that this was the fifth-biggest snowstorm on record for the area, he said, “that’s just part of life.”