Tinley Park: Post Snow, What To Know

TINLEY PARK, IL — Wish it was spring already? Many will agree if you answered yes. A snowstorm that started over the weekend and lasted into Tuesday morning dumped more than a foot of snow on some areas, with the highest snowfall total so far — nearly 18 inches — seen at Midway airport.

Cook County was hit the hardest, but other areas, including parts of Will County, got as much as 9 inches in some places. The National Weather Service has yet to specify the amount of snow fall Tinley Park received from the storm, but here are some things the village wants you to know when going about your day.

Tinley Park Convention Center

The Tinley Park Convention Center is being used as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site, and was the first mass site to open in Illinois back in January. Tinley Park Public Works announced that due to the severe weather conditions, the site will remain closed on Tuesday, and reopen Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

Many people are scrambling to schedule a vaccine appointment, and the site is one place those who wish to be inoculated are getting into. A representative from Cook County will be in contact with those who now have cancelled appointments.

No Trash Pick-Up

Homewood Disposal Service is postponing garbage pickup for Tuesday, Feb. 16 due to heavy snowfall. The company's sites will also be closed.

Routes are being pushed back a day, and the disposal service will be servicing customers Wednesday through Saturday to make up for Tuesday, similar to a holiday week. In other words, if your regular garbage collection is Tuesday, it's going to be delayed by a day.

Schools Closed

We've got good news and bad news for all you kids out there. The good news is that in-person classes and school buildings will be closed Tuesday, Feb. 16. The bad news is that a lot of you will have e-learning.

Here are the schools that are canceling in-person classes or canceling classes:

• Kirby School District 140: Closed
• Community Consolidated School District 146: Closed, E-learning.
• Bremen High School District 228: Schools closed with E-learning.
• Consolidated High School District 230: Closed, E-learning.
• St. Michael's & Cardinal Bernardin: Closed, E-learning.

Source: Emergency Closing Center

Make Sure Those Fire Hydrants Are Clear

The Tinley Park Public Works and Fire Department are asking residents to make sure fire hydrants on their blocks are cleared. If a fire were to occur, firefighters would have to dig the snow out from the hydrants near your home, as minutes go by and flames continue to burn.

Students who are looking to complete community service hours — a requirement many have to complete to graduate high school — can volunteer by clearing 3-feet of snow around fire hydrants in their community. Students will receive two community service hours for every hydrant they clear, according to the village. All students have to do is email pcarr@tinleypark.org with the hydrant location, date, school and before and after photo of the hydrant(s).

Graduation is just around the corner seniors, get those hours in if you need them!

Snow Plows

The Village of Tinley Park's snow removal plan always goes into effect after one inch of snow is reported. When this happens, no cars are to be parked on the street, as plow trucks will need to clear the roads. Do not push snow from your driveway onto the street, the village said anyone who does this runs the risk of liability if an accident were to occur due to the snow pile up.

According to the village, all streets first receive two passes down the center of the street by the plow to open access to the neighborhood. After all streets of the village are plowed one time, the plows return to do curb-to-curb scrapes.

The last snowfall to hit the village earlier this month recorded 114.97 tons of salt used to help clear the roads. Learn more about the plowing rules in the village and see routes plows follow on the village website.

Don't go out if you don't have to

The National Weather Service advised motorists to use caution, as blowing and drifting snow continued to reduce visibility on the roads. Localized heavy lake effect snowfall rates could also continue near Lake Michigan through the morning, with hazardous travel conditions due to snow-covered roads.
Authorities urged residents to:

• Consider postponing non-essential travel
• Bring an emergency kit if you must drive
• Check road conditions before leaving
• Take it slow when shoveling snow

The area could get more snow in the coming days, with light snow possible Wednesday night and more snow — most likely near the lake) on Thursday.
Friday and Saturday are expected to be partly sunny with highs in the low 20s.

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