As the Lehigh Valley prepares for the possibility of another major winter storm this weekend, Allentown is still fielding complaints about how it handled snow-clearing efforts following a late January storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on the region.
According to the National Weather Service forecast office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, “the potential for widespread accumulating snowfall continues to increase,” though forecasters were still uncertain Friday afternoon about the storm’s trajectory, and therefore how much snow it would bring. The service declared a winter storm watch from 6 a.m. Sunday until 6 p.m. Monday.
The watch warns of heavy snow, with total accumulations potentially exceeding six inches. However, storm models continued to show different scenarios for how the storm could play out. One called for the storm to track closer to the coast and strengthen, which would bring heavy, rapidly falling snow and high wings. The other said the system would remain weak and move further out to sea, leading to lower snowfall estimates.
Allentown spokesperson Chelsea Koerbler said Friday that public works staff will begin snow preparation efforts at 7 a.m. Sunday, working through Sunday night and into Monday morning. The city could not pre-treat the roads because of heavy rainfall Friday, but said the city is “fully prepared” with salt supplies, loaded trucks and crews come Sunday, she said.
The snow preparation efforts come as City Council, at its regular meeting Wednesday, fielded several complaints about the city’s handling of snow clearing and removal following the late January storm.
After the Jan. 25 snowfall, the region faced nearly three weeks of sub-freezing temperatures, which complicated cities’ efforts to clear and remove snow.
Enid Santiago, a local political activist who leads the nonprofit SELF Women’s Re-entry, said that she has been unable to get to the nonprofit’s headquarters on Hanover Avenue since the storm, because piles of snow remain in parking spots outside the building.
“If we get snow on Sunday we are going to be buried forever, there is just no getting around it at this point,” Santiago said. “My garage is buried at our women’s re-entry house, completely buried.”
Millie Canales, an Allentown resident and community advocate, said that police and public works staff, just past midnight on Saturday, Feb 7, wailed sirens in the 500 block of Allen Street, telling residents they must immediately move their cars or risk being towed, because trucks were clearing snow from the street that very night.
“While we all want clean streets, the method used by the police department was an unnecessary escalation that caused deep distress across our community,” Canales said.
The city continued its snow removal efforts into early February as the below-freezing temperatures meant that piles of snow did not immediately melt, making it a heavy lift for a region that rarely sees such a prolonged stretch of cold.
The city, with its 420 miles of roadway, does not have the capacity to remove snow citywide to clear out parking spaces, Koerbler said.
“Under normal winter conditions, natural melting assists significantly in the clearing process. However, the sustained period of sub-freezing temperatures prevented that natural melting from occurring,” Koerbler said in a statement. “As a result, crews relied entirely on plowing and treatment operations to maintain safe travel conditions.”
Koerbler said that despite those challenges, the city “responded promptly and effectively to ensure public safety” by clearing roadways to ensure cars can pass through safely.
City Council President Santo Napoli said Wednesday that council would hold a public works committee meeting in March to address concerns and complaint’s about the city’s snow removal procedures.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.