Adam Bradley took a deep breath and exhaled before describing his prolonged trip to work Tuesday.
“It was horrible,” said Bradley, 41, of Littleton. The trip was all the worse because of what he considered subpar efforts by Denver road crews to clear snow from streets. “It’s ridiculous. I’m not impressed.”
Bradley was one of many people grumbling about the condition of Denver roads Wednesday, but some were impressed by the efforts to clear roads and rail lines after Tuesday’s storm.
Linda Serrano, 61, of Aurora, smiled pleasantly and said she was actually surprised that her light rail ride was punctual Tuesday morning.
“Everything was smooth this morning,” Serrano said. “I thought the light rail would be late, but it was right on time.”
Denver Public Works spokeswoman Heather Burke said the city called out all of its 70 heavy snow plows by 10 p.m., and they have been working around the clock since. Crews continued working Wednesday to clear deep spots.
Burke explained that the city actually went beyond its normal protocol and hit side streets in residential neighborhoods Tuesday night. Normally, the city doesn’t plow streets with no traffic lines until more than a foot of snow falls.
“I haven’t heard a lot of complaints. The roads are snow-packed, but it’s starting to break up,” Burke said. “With the sun, it’s going to help a lot.”
But it wasn’t difficult to find people who were perturbed about snow-clogged streets.
Bradley said he understands the city not being able to clear side streets, but he pointed at streets filled with snow adjacent to the 16th Street Mall.
“This is downtown. It was bumper to bumper for hours,” he said, describing his commute into work.
Frank Marendino, 55, of Cherry Creek, said it appeared the city was prepared for 6 inches of snow, not 12 inches. He pointed across the street at a car that was spinning its wheels.
“He probably won’t get out of there unless someone helps him,” he said.
But Marendino, who has a four-wheel-drive vehicle, was reluctant to blame city workers, saying the volume of snow was bound to create problems.
“When it snows like this, what are you going to do with it all?” he said.
He also said so many people don’t have SUVs or good tires and are ill-prepared for a big snowstorm.
According to weather forecasters, cold weather could prevent roads from thawing out at least until Friday, when temperatures are expected to rise to the mid-40s.
Thursday’s high temperature isn’t expected to go above freezing.
