City of Lincoln details why snowplows didn’t reach residential areas

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) —Larry Barksdale lives near 27th and Capital Parkway, and he’s still seeing slick conditions tonight.

He said his mailbox has been knocked over several times by cars sliding on the ice and slush on the roads.

“This area gets a lot of traffic,” he said. “It’s usually well salted. But, this time it didn’t happen for some reason, I don’t know. Most times it’s plowed pretty well on, but this time I didn’t see any snow plows come through at all. It did get really slick out here.”

Although Barksdale is not alone.

Many are still feeling the impact of the first snowfall of the winter.

Particularly, in residential areas. The Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Department did not plow many parts of the city, leaving residential homeowners wondering why.

But the city is answering that question. In a statement sent to Channel 8, it reads in part:

“This recent snowstorm was an unusual weather event for this early in the season, beginning with freezing rain and sleet before transitioning into snow. For this snow event, we evaluated several factors to determine whether residential plowing would be effective. We work to strike a balance between winter conditions, forecasted warmer temperatures and melting, and the cost of deploying residential plows.”

LTU said residential plowing would not be an effective investment of taxpayer funds based on those factors.

The city also said crews have been focusing on addressing trouble spots and community service requests on residential streets since Tuesday and will continue to do so.