ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 Stubborn snow continues to cause issues more than three weeks after it fell, with some city residents criticizing leaders for a slow cleanup.<\/p>\n
A winter storm dropped almost a foot of snow on Lehigh Valley International Airport on Jan. 25, breaking the record for the same date \u2014 10.4 inches in 1988. <\/p>\n
Last month\u2019s storm was the biggest since 27 inches of snow fell at the airport in early February 2021.<\/p>\n
And some areas of the region saw up to 17 inches of snow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we get snow on Sunday, we\u2019re going to be buried forever.”<\/p>\n
Enid Santiago<\/p>\n
Several residents on Wednesday called out Mayor Matt Tuerk\u2019s administration for not doing more to clear snow from city streets \u2014 but also for having crews work through the night during the first week after the storm.<\/p>\n
Resident Enid Santiago said she has struggled to get to work for much of the past month since the storm hit.<\/p>\n
Steady rain melted a decent portion of the snowpack Wednesday after little change over the past few weeks. But Santiago said she worries issues will reignite if more snow falls on the city this weekend, as potentially forecast.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we get snow on Sunday, we\u2019re going to be buried forever,\u201d Santiago said.<\/p>\n
‘Shock and awe’<\/p>\n
Center City resident Milagros Canales urged Tuerk to change the city\u2019s policies after decrying how cops and public works crews cleared snow in her neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recently experienced a snow-removal effort that looked less like city service and more like a tactical raid.”<\/p>\n
Milagros Canales<\/p>\n
Officers drove down the 500 block of Allen Street with their lights on and sirens blaring after midnight Feb. 7, a \u201cshock-and-awe tactic\u201d that awoke and stressed residents, Canales said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recently experienced a snow-removal effort that looked less like city service and more like a tactical raid,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She voiced concerns that it eroded hard-earned \u201cwarmth and cooperation” between the community and police.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Ramos, who lives on the block, said hearing \u201ccrazy sirens\u201d early in the morning reminded her of the sirens that signal the start of chaos in “The Purge” movies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s how the scene felt,\u201d Ramos said. \u201cI felt like something really bad was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a historically difficult cleanup.”<\/p>\n
Mayor Matt Tuerk<\/p>\n
Ramos said officers were \u201cvery rude\u201d as residents scrambled to move their vehicles to avoid being towed. <\/p>\n
Some sat in their cars for hours while crews cleared the block because no other parking spots were available, she said.<\/p>\n
Resident Betty Cauler criticized Tuerk over several issues before wrapping up with her thoughts about the city\u2019s work in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as far as the snow removal, that sucks, too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Tuerk after Wednesday night\u2019s meeting acknowledged \u201ceverybody\u2019s pissed\u201d that snow still is causing inconveniences long after it fell.<\/p>\n
But he urged residents to remain patient as cleanup efforts continue.<\/p>\n
He called overnight snow-clearing efforts a \u201cno-win\u201d situation for city leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don’t remove snow in the middle of the night, people are mad at you because you’re not doing anything when you could be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you do remove snow in the middle of the night, people are mad at you because you’re waking them up while they’re trying to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Employees with a fleet of more than 50 vehicles started working \u201cas soon as that first flake hit\u201d the ground Jan. 25, Tuerk said, and many put in long hours over the next few days clearing emergency routes and main roads.<\/p>\n
They then worked to truck snow away from Center City and Allentown schools, which were closed for a week, he said.<\/p>\n
Snow clearing and removal continued around the clock for almost two weeks before crews were given a break and about two dozen parks-related vehicles returned to their normal operations, Tuerk said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
About 30 vehicles are prepared for the next storm, he said.<\/p>\n
Costly cleanup<\/p>\n
It\u2019s as yet unclear how much Allentown has spent to clean up after Winter Storm Fern, but it could have cost the city up to $1.5 million if it hired companies to clear the snow, according to the mayor.<\/p>\n
An estimate showed the city would have to pay about $85,000 for each day of contracted snow clearing, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people of Allentown decided to go on a dog-shit-picking-up moratorium. … [That] is now being unearthed.”<\/p>\n
Mayor Matt Tuerk<\/p>\n
Allentown does not have the funds to clear all snow from the city\u2019s 400-plus miles of roads, Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d have to raise taxes through the roof\u201d or significantly cut other services to afford that, he said.<\/p>\n
Allentown is projected to generate an additional $1.5 million by raising property taxes about 4% in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is that we’re not Montreal, we’re not Denver, we’re not a big snow city,\u201d Tuerk said. He said Allentown does not have the infrastructure to deal with regular large storms.<\/p>\n
A little help from Mother Nature could\u2019ve saved the city a lot of money and residents a lot of hassle, Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe storm itself was not that bad,” he said. “We got 12 inches of snow with some ice on top.”<\/p>\n
But weeks of below-freezing temperatures made the snowstorm much harder to manage, Tuerk said, highlighting the uncommon sight of a frozen-over Lehigh River.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a historically difficult cleanup,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And it will be anything but clean.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people of Allentown decided to go on a dog-s\u2014t-picking-up moratorium,\u201d Tuerk said. \u201cSo all of the dog poop that\u2019s in the snow, all of the litter that was getting cleaned up as part of normal street-sweeping operations \u2026 is now being unearthed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allentown’s public works department, led by Mark Shahda, is set to answer questions from Allentown City Council members during a meeting March 11. <\/p>\n
It might come after another storm.<\/p>\n