KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Braden met with the Lee's Summit's Public Works Department before the storm and is following up after. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.
Lee's Summit public works crews say they're almost finished clearing residential streets after this week's winter storm.
Officials hope to complete their work Tuesday.
While the main roads and highways are mostly clear, there are many snow-covered neighborhood streets as crews work through 1,100 lane miles across the city.
"We're about 50% through our residentials right now," said Shawn Graff, assistant director of the public works department in Lee's Summit. "So we're hoping to be through them, hopefully tomorrow."
The department estimates they've used roughly 1,500 tons of salt during the multi-day clearing operation that began with pretreatment before the storm hit.
"With any luck, we won't have any more snow this year," Graff said days before snow fell.
Graff noted that while sunny conditions help melt snow, residents should expect challenges when the sun goes down.
"That's one thing we're going to see the next few days," Graff said. The sun's going to come out and it's going to thaw everything out and then we're going to see a refreeze overnight."
For families like the Barrons, who were out sledding, the main challenges were navigating their neighborhood street.
"Some of the roads were clear; the main roads, the highways, they were semi-clear," Jesse Barron said. "But the side streets, they were kind of still snow covered. It's just getting out of the neighborhoods is the trickiest part."
As road conditions improve, parents are shifting their focus from travel concerns to the cold temperatures as schools look to get back to in-person classes.
"Now the temperatures are another tricky thing unfortunately, because there's lots of little ones who go to the bus stop," said Lacy Barron.
Mila Barron, a student in the second grade, shared mixed feelings about remote learning days, known as Alternate Method of Instruction (AMI) days.
"What I like about AMI days is I just have to like go into my Google meet, do my work and then we get to do stuff for the rest of the day," Mila said.
However, she also appreciates in-person learning.
"That I get to see my friends and my teacher," she said. "And I also really like math and science."
Some districts went to remote learning for January 27, while others opted for in-person learning or canceling classes altogether.
See school closures and AMI days here:
School Closings and Delays
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