INDIANAPOLIS — As main thoroughfares and roads are looking better Monday night, residential streets have a long way to go before the snow is cleared.
Indianapolis residents that live near main roads say they’ve never seen the city clear their streets.
"I've got all-wheel drive so I don't usually have a problem with this,” Brandon Jardine, a Fountain Square resident, said. “The city never comes and clears the streets or anything. They clear the main roads but not the residential streets."
The Indianapolis Department of Public Works says they always start with plowing major city thoroughfares such as Keystone Avenue and Fall Creek Parkway.
Next, crews clear secondary streets. Those roads connect major city streets to other less-traveled roads.
"We must tackle the major arteries,” Auboni Hart, a Spokesperson for DPW, said. “That is the avenue that a lot of our first responders take so we want to make sure that we prioritize those."
As for residential streets, DPW says they won't be on a lot of them. The streets in blue on the map below represent what the city calls connector streets.
The streets were selected to link neighborhoods and residential areas to the secondary streets and thoroughfares already plowed by DPW.
As for when those connector streets will be plowed, DPW didn’t give us an answer.
"The city will make a call on when and how to get to these streets but it is something that is top of mind and something we are discussing,” Hart said.
On Tuesday, Indy DPW said crews will begin clearing connector streets, some of which run through residential areas. So far, they say they have used 3,628 tons of salt, plowed 32,357 miles, and logged over 5,600 man-hours.
While residents wait for the snow to melt or for someone else to plow their street, there is something to keep in mind.
As a home or business owner, you're responsible for clearing sidewalks and your mailbox. The City’s website says you could be fined $50 if you don’t remove snow and ice from your sidewalk.
However, the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services tells WRTV it has never issued a ticket.
When someone reports an un-shoveled sidewalk to the Mayor’s Action Center, the case is assigned to an inspector at DBNS. When inspectors respond to a complaint, DBNS says they generally provide educational materials and give verbal warnings.
For more information on connector routes, click here.
