Lynnwood residents shoveling out their own roads

LYNNWOOD, Wash. — After extreme winter weather has hammered the Puget Sound for nearly a week, one community has taken matters into its own hands to clear their roads of snow and ice.

“If we don’t do it, then no one gets out of their neighborhoods,” said resident Chris Polintan. “We’ve seen accidents all throughout the years. Cars bumping down there and all through the road.”

Many cities across western Washington don’t have enough resources to clear out side streets, so residents in one Lynwood neighborhood grabbed their own shovels and got to work.

John Biebelhausen says he’s seen enough wrecks to know that just a little bit of snow can cause major issues. “Not enough momentum, you’re sliding back down. You can see all the cars here, so people are getting stuck,” he said.

In the City of Seattle, the Department of Transportation says snow removal has been an ongoing challenge.

“Overnight, a lot of snow came down and covered up a lot of the work we have done,” said SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson. “But we just kept on going out there to make more of the roads passable.”

The focus continues to stay on the major thoroughfares throughout the city, making sure emergency vehicles and commuters can freely move about.

Even if the snow doesn’t fall, it’s the freezing cold that will keep roads closed and crews working through the night. “As long as the weather stays below freezing conditions, we’re going to keep on having these challenges we need to respond to,” said Bergerson.

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