Some side streets and alleys in D.C. still not plowed

Some District residents are still waiting for plows to clear their side residential streets or alleyways, days after the winter storm.

In its most recent social media update Tuesday, the D.C. Department of Public Works said that while most main roads were clear, “ice, snow and continuing freezing temperatures have made residential road clearing more complex.”

The heavy ice that formed from the combination of snow and other precipitation has not helped matters.

“We’re hearing from a lot of neighbors about neighborhood streets that still haven’t been plowed. … I’ve heard that many smaller plows were damaged early on by heavy ice, and large plows can’t safely fit on many residential streets,” said D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6 Democrat, on Instagram Wednesday.

Mr. Allen also said contractors were being brought in under Department of Public Works supervision to aid in the street-clearing efforts.

One man, Gabriel, told Washington’s WTTG that “if I was to advise anybody on the side roads, do not chance the side roads. Stay on the main roads because the side roads are getting really soft, and even with all-wheel drive, you see them escalate [and] still get stuck.”

Ward 1 resident and activist Terry Lynch told another D.C. station, WJLA-TV, that “the Department of Public Works has really let us down.”

An anonymous source sent pictures to local news blog PoPville, showing an 18-wheeler that got stuck in the snow at 17th Street NW and Kalorama Road NW after making a delivery at a grocery store.

“It took an additional 30–45 minutes of shoveling to clear the intersection enough for the truck to get through and continue on its way,” the person told PoPville, claiming that as of Tuesday, neither 17th Street NW, Kalorama Road NW, nor Euclid Street NW had been cleared of snow.