Adrienne Writes

I’m sure you read my post from midnight. Well, here’s my post from 8:30 p.m. the same day.

At around 4 p.m. I emailed my alderman and asked if she knew when we might be able to expect snow removal since the main roads were clear. Also, I pointed out, the city was now removing snow from sidewalks in Grant Park and from the sidewalks along a bus-less boulevard near my house , so if they had time to remove sidewalk snow in little-used areas (for the winter, that is,) perhaps they could come down my street.

Alderman said that the cleanup crew was scheduled to appear “today.”  About a half hour later, I heard a beep-beep-beep – that sound you hear when construction trucks roll in reverse. I pulled on my boots and went out back. Glory Be! A backhoe! In my alley!

The city said it would be clearing alleys for garbage pickup, but they said the alleys would be cleared ONLY AFTER the streets were clear. So while I was grateful for the alley clearance, I wondered how any of us would actually get to the alley given that our streets weren’t clear. The backhoe dude stopped to chat with me. He said that he’d been clearing alleys in my area all day but hadn’t seen one snow plow. He’d also seen no salt trucks.

And since he’s pushing a powerful, yet smaller, type of equipment, he said things would go faster if a snow plow got the big mounds while he cleaned up other, harder-to-reach areas.

I couldn’t agree more.

This dude said he was sent down from the Ohare Airport area. He said he wondered why no one had been over to the Bronzeville area yet when the streets were wide enough for a plow. I wondered that too. He went ahead and cleared the alley, but said he thought it a shame that garbage trucks would get clearance to drive before the tax-payers, who have to go to work too.

We talked a bit about Harley Davidsons and Mercedes and BMWs and I got out his way, so he could work. I hit up 311 again, and then I emailed a few city folk. And then I emailed my alderman again. She said they probably wouldn’t get to the actual street tonight and to hit her back on Monday.

Well, dude from Ohare? He just showed up about 15 minutes ago to clear the street. He tried mightily, but that backhoe only made a teeny dent in what needs to be done on this block. He was out there for an hour clearing just one corner.

I wish he’d started on my end of the block!

Ah well. He put in an hour and then took a break.

I do live on what the mayor would describe as an “arterial” street. It’s not a major avenue though it does generate a ton of business traffic. So I didn’t expect snow removal immediately. But in the pre-blizzard past, the city has overlooked plowing this street. It’s something my neighbors and I have discussed with streets and sanitation before. I live in an odd area that’s very nearly between districts, so usually person A thinks that person B did the work and vice versa.

I feared that in this snowstorm, the same situation would occur.

But Mr. Backhoe apparently worked some snow magic.

Honestly, I think my block might not have gotten attention until I asked Mr. backhoe if there was anything he could do to get a snowplow on the block. I’m glad he eyeballed for himself so he could see the issues and formulate an action plan. He didn’t just tell me that everybody else had snow, so just “be patient.”

In fact, he said that he had already cleared north side alleys before being told to come and clear clogged up south side arterials. He’s also white.

Anyhoo. We bonded over the Harley in my garage and he decided to help a sista out.

I’m watching him now, out the window. He’s working it out. Everyone’s on the street, trying to check out Mr. Backhoe and also trying to get their cars out the way so he can clean this street.

Wish I could give him a beer, but he’s driving heavy machinery. So, I’ll just give him my own kind of bloggers salute.