South Side Alderman Says City Is Diverting Road Salt From His Ward
(CBS) – One Chicago alderman would like city government to pass the road salt after the recent snowfall and deep freeze left his ward's side streets practically impassable.
The sounds of spinning tires on snow- and ice-clogged streets are common on the side streets of the 6th Ward.
The sound of grumbling is pretty common, too.
"You can barely park. If you don't have four-wheel drive, you basically got to get a push out or get shoveled out," Chatham resident E.J. Barrett tells CBS 2's Mike Parker.
Sixth Ward Ald. Roderick Sawyer is unhappy with what he perceives as the city's stinginess with the 100,000 tons of road salt it has on hand.
His ward's five trucks have been limited to one load of salt a day, and they're often pulled out of the ward, he says, to salt a higher priority: Lake Shore Drive.
"We can't be pennywise and pound foolish," Sawyer says. "We have to make sure we make responsible decisions, but at the same time we need to responds to our constituents."
A Streets and Sanitation spokeswoman responds: "We are managing our salt to ensure we are not wasting salt."
She predicts the stuff that's been laid down since Sunday will start to work Friday when the warm-up begins.