Snowplows miss St. John's streets after massive storm

The residents of one St. John's neighbourhood had an extra difficult time getting out from Monday's storm.

Some people who live in Southlands went 24 hours without seeing a plow.

The city says four streets in the neighbourhood were inadvertently missed by plow operators.

Residents of the neighbourhood were frustrated by the circumstances.

"Usually the plows are very frequent here in Southlands to the point where you get your driveway plowed, and before you know it someone comes along and plows you in again," said resident Bob Verte.

"Yesterday, I think there was a plow early in the morning and nothing again until last night."

One city councillor ended up getting into the action and used his own snowplow, when a school bus carrying children got into trouble.

When Councillor Wally Collins received calls about the situation Tuesday morning, his solution was to get into his own backhoe and help out.

"I'm pushing a plow and farm tractor since 30, 40 years," Collins said.

According to Collins, one of the plows dispatched Tuesday morning may have had mechanical issues. 

The city is currently looking into what went wrong. The mayor has called the situation an "oversight" and apologized.

Council has been under fire in the last week or so since dozens of snowclearing staff were laid off just before some large storms hit the region.