A family in Dearborn Heights allege that DPW trucks dumped snow in front of their home and blocked them in.

DEARBORN — The Detroit metro area appeared to be well prepared for the snowstorm that impacted the area on Sunday, February 1 and Monday, February 2 and has since gone on record as the third largest recorded snowfall to hit the region.

The City of Dearborn had alerted residents a couple of days in advance that a snow emergency would be in effect from Sunday evening until Monday evening. It marked the first snow emergency of the winter season, a contrast to last year when the city had already declared several snow emergencies by February. Last year, of course, marked one of the harshest winter seasons on record. This year, the city prepared well in advance to combat another harsh season. 

As is the case in many cities, during a city-declared snow emergency residents are required to move their vehicles off their streets so that plow trucks can remove accumulated snow.

With multiple alerts sent out to residents, including the police department’s text message alert system NIXLE, the city website and CD-TV, this snowstorm marked the first time in years where the majority of residents had complied with city ordinances.

According to the Department of Public Information, 235 violations were issued during the snow emergency period. The police department estimates that there was an 80 percent compliance rate city wide.

Residents who did not comply were cited with an $80 fine. In previous years, that fee was $40 if it was paid within three business days.

The increase in the violation fee is due to a new pilot program the city implemented this year, in which it allocated parking spaces in congested neighborhoods where residents could park their vehicles.

The first test run of the pilot program occurred during this snow emergency. The Department of Public works estimates that only about 40 percent of the available space in the parking areas was utilized.

“The program is going to be an educational process,” said Mary Laundroche, director of the Department of Public Information. “Because of the nature of the storm, both police and DPW had their hands full. While they monitored those areas as much as they could, the main focus was on cleaning the streets and assisting residents.”

According to Laundroche, the morning before the snowstorm began, city officials went door to door to alert residents about the need to move their vehicles off the street, as well as remind them of available parking spaces provided by the city.

The city had also sent out mailers before the beginning of the winter season this year to inform residents of the pilot program during snow emergencies.

It does appear that both the pilot program and the city’s persistent alerts to residents paid off compared to last year.

During the first snow emergency of the 2013-2014 season, the city issued a whopping 1,193 citations. In the following weeks, several more snow emergencies were declared and hundreds of residents continued to receive citations. By the end of the winter season, the city had issued close to 5,000 citations.

“We really reached out to make sure people could park their cars in a safe place and not get tickets,” Laundroche said. 

Dearborn Heights falls short

While the snow emergency appeared to run smoothly in Dearborn, The Arab American News received complaints from disgruntled residents in Dearborn Heights who were critical of that city’s DPW services. 

A majority of neighborhood streets were left unplowed until Tuesday, with some residents even claiming that plow trucks didn’t come through their area until Wednesday. 

Houssein Al-Haj Ahmad, who resides on Hanover Street near Michigan Avenue and Van Born, was once again caught in a predicament this year when plow trucks dumped snow in front of his home, located on a dead end. 

“I’ve been abused by this city several times and I’ve had enough,” Ahmad said. “This is not the first time this has happened. They plowed the main streets and pushed the snow to my house and blocked us in.”

Ahmad said he made several attempts to contact Mayor Dan Paletko, but was told the mayor was too busy to speak with anyone. Ahmad also allegedly contacted the DPW, but was given the run-around. It wasn’t until he got hold of two city council members that the issue was finally resolved. DPW crew were sent to his home later that day to remove the snow that had been blocking him in. 

Ahmad said he and his neighbors have been growing weary of city officials and the lack of services in Dearborn Heights. People on his street have had other issues with the city, including lack of garbage pick up services and a lack of response from city officials during the August flooding last year.

As a former resident of Dearborn, Ahmad said residents in Dearborn Heights hope to have even a fraction of Dearborn’s services. He compared the two city’s services to “heaven and hell.” 

“The DPW is being very unprofessional,” Ahmad added. “They don’t even clean our streets or take care of us. The entire neighborhood is sick of the city. No one can tolerate this abuse any more.”