shorter DPW director david sherman: the city didn't botch its handling of this week's snow storm. on the contrary, our snow-plowing strategy is intentionally crappy. if you want your street plowed, plow it yourself!

no, seriously. check it out:

But the city's chief snow fighter, Department of Public Works Director David Sherman, calls it business as usual.

The city's snow strategy "is not designed to remove snow on all residential streets," Sherman said. "We've already done the streets we normally do."

With more than 4,100 miles of roads in the county, Sherman said, "we just don't have the capacity" to clear them all. And because massive snowfalls are rare in Indianapolis (to match this week's, you have to go back to 1996), it would not be practical "to build such capacity."

[...]

Sherman called on residents to take responsibility for their own streets and sidewalks.

"Get with your neighbors," he said. "Get some shovels and plows. There's a lot of people who just need to do it themselves."

let that be a lesson to you, indianapolis. get off your lazy ass and plow your own damn street. and if you don't like it, don't bother trying to take it to the mayor, because he's not even here:

Robert Vane, Mayor Greg Ballard's spokesman, said snowplow crews are working hard and making progress. Ballard could not be reached for comment because he was en route to Tampa, Fla., where he will go to meetings and attend the Super Bowl.

a man's gotta have priorities, after all. ¶

This will find its way into the next Mayoral campaign.

Ballard burns, while Indy fiddles. ¶

sunburns, that is. ¶

[sunburns golf claps]

I'm willing to listen to the following explanation: they got wrong-footed Monday night, and salted because they thought there'd be 1-2" of snow for morning rush hour. The prediction was wrong, and the salting was worthless, and then the second storm was twice the size they expected. (Of course, predictions included the possibility that it would come north, but I'm trying to be nice.)

Like I say, I'm willing to listen, but instead these guys come out with Heckuva Job, Brownie. It's fuggin' insulting. Oh, there are so many miles of streets to clear! There aren't any more streets now than there were ten years ago; there's just another Republican administration cutting costs by skimping on maintenance. ¶

I drove to the airport for a flight to Phoenix early Wed morning, in the middle of the actual snowstorm.

To come home this morning and find my street STILL unplowed was a slap in the face. What's more, I don't take Sherman's explanation, because our street has always been plowed out previously.

Ridiculous. And we're supposed to host a Super Bowl in 2012? During January? Hope those folks bring shovels... ¶

I don't begrudge Ballard for going to Tampa, I really don't he needs to learn about the Super Bowl...HOWEVER, he can certainly call whomever and tell them to plow the bloody streets.

I wondered how long it would take for you to get this... ¶

Amazing that the Ballard apologists haven't been making excuses about this latest flub of his.

Even more amazing that he thought it prudent to take the whole darn family on this junket. Wow, what a boneheaded move.

I would worry about a fail on the national level should we have a heavy snow during our Super Bowl week, but chances are slim he'll be in office then. The machine that controls him now didn't run him for office in the first place and they won't want to run him in 2011. Watch. ¶