The snow goes back to the middle.
On October 13 the Common Council voted 11 to 0 to adopt Resolution 26-1008, which lets plows work our boulevards counterflow to traffic whenever it is safe, settling the legal question that had stood in the way. Then Public Works Director Eric Lindman told the Council, on the record, that the boulevards will be plowed to the center “probably 90 percent, or even better” of the time.
Thank you, neighbors.
You made this happen.
- 1Carol LukensYes
- 2Michael MartensYes
- 3Terry KilianYes
- 4Tom NealYes
- 5Andrew WiskowskiYes
- 6Kristin SlonskiYes
- 7Matt HoeneckeYes
- 8Sarah WatsonYes
- 9Vicki TierneyYes
- 10Lou LarsonYes
- 11Bruce TruebloodYes
Four meetings, two neighborhoods, one ask
A city policy changed because neighbors on two sides of town did the patient, unglamorous work: signing, writing, measuring, showing up, and coming back. Here is who to thank.
To everyone who signed
You put your names on notarized petitions on the Southeast Side, and every household in the Highland Park neighborhood signed. That was the first thing the committee saw, and it made this a request from whole neighborhoods, not a few loud voices.
To every house with a yard sign
Fifty signs went up across both neighborhoods and stayed up through three meetings. Anyone driving our streets could see where we stood. Thank you for lending us your lawn.
They can come down now. Hang on to yours; it folds flat.
To everyone who spoke up
You came to the microphone and wrote letters, told the committee what three winters of plowed-in driveways looked like, filled the room on September 10 and again on October 8, and came back to Council Chambers on October 13 to see it through.
To the Common Council
Every member voted yes. The Infrastructure & Facilities Committee recommended the amendment 5 to 0 after three hearings, a cost estimate, and a written legal opinion, and Mayor Diny took the item out of order so the neighbors waiting in the room would not have to sit through the rest of the agenda.
And a special thank-you
- ★
Alders Carol Lukens and Lou Larson
Districts 1 and 10. They came to a committee they do not sit on, carried residents’ questions for months, and asked on the Council floor for the strongest language they could get. Alder Lukens also took the plow drivers’ license question to the City Attorney’s office.
- ★
Alder Tom Neal
District 4. He commended the many neighbors behind “a very compelling and well-researched” petition, and told the Director plainly what the neighborhoods expect: “If it’s going to be a route, make it a route.”
- ★
The Infrastructure & Facilities Committee
Chair Bruce Trueblood, Vice Chair Andrew Wiskowski, and Alders Michael Martens, Matt Hoenecke, and Kristin Slonski, for the 5 to 0 recommendation, and for asking the cost and legal questions that came back answered in writing. Alder Slonski moved it at Council, and Alder Trueblood asked Public Works there about notifying residents before any future change.
- ★
The City Attorney’s office
Assistant City Attorney Vincent Bonino’s October 5 opinion confirmed that state law lets a plow at work operate on the left side of the road, and recommended the policy say so. It did.
- ★
Director Eric Lindman and the Public Works crews
For a clear public commitment, and for the 3 a.m. shifts ahead. Alder Hoenecke asked the Director to thank his staff for their hard work. We would like to add ours.
I will say probably 90 percent, or even better, of the times it will be plowed to the center.”
That’s all I’m asking for.Alder Tom Neal, District 4 · 2:39:17
The exceptions the Director named: light snowfalls when only the sanding and salting trucks are out, and the rare heavy year when a median is already full late in the season. He also said, “I’m very sure that we’re going to earn their trust back in a very short period of time” (2:31:17). We believe him, and we look forward to the first snowfall.
From a petition to an 11–0 vote
- June 30
Petitions filed
Southeast Side neighbors file notarized petitions with the City Clerk. Highland Park follows with every household’s signature.
- July 9
First hearing
The Infrastructure & Facilities Committee takes up the petitions and asks Public Works for more information.
- Sept 10
A full room
Neighbors from both sides of town fill the committee room. Every speaker asks for the same thing.
- Oct 5
The legal answer
The City Attorney’s office confirms in writing that a plow at work may operate on the left side of the road.
- Oct 8
Committee, 5–0
The committee recommends amending the Winter Street Maintenance Policy.
- Oct 13
Council, 11–0
Adopted. The Director commits, on the record, to plowing to the center.
First, a party. Then, the first snowfall.
Neighborhood potluck at the D.C. Everest House, the Gargoyle House at 1206 Highland Park Boulevard, on Friday, October 30 at 6:00 p.m. Bring your favorite dish to pass; we will have the beer and wine. Then two small things: send the Council a short thank-you, and after each plowable snowfall this winter, tell us which way the plow went, so both neighborhoods keep one honest record.