Snowplows will be out Wednesday to continue clearing snow off of secondary roads around Westfield.

Mayor Andy Skibitsky said that the Department of Public Works will continue to clear snow that remains on roadways. Residents have been complaining that many of the side streets remain tough to drive on as packed down snow remains on streets. Several residents have commented on Patch regarding snow plowing efforts.

Skibitsky said the amount of snow, estimated at between 24 and 30 inches, and the high winds complicated snow removal efforts from the DPW. He said the 38 DPW staffers working on snow removal worked from 5:30 p.m. on Sunday to 11:30 p.m. on Monday.

"It's been a difficult storm," he said. "We are limited in the number of men and plows. With the drifting that was five to six feet high, there were a lot of problems."

He said many of the secondary roads, including cul de sacs and dead ends provided to be the worst to plow given the snowdrifts. DPW officials reported a number of plows being stuck in the snow on Sunday night and early Monday morning, necessitating other plows to dig them out.

A drive through secondary roads in town shows snow packed down on streets, including on such roads as Prospect Street past Dudley, Lenox Avenue and South Chestnut Street. Elmer Street on the edge of downtown was reduced to one lane in front of the First Congregational Church as piled snow took up street parking spots.

Skibitsky said that Westfield's plowing issues are similar to what he is hearing from his counterparts.

"I talked to some other mayors and they have the same problems we are having," he said. "Even on the Turnpike they could not use plows and had to bring in front end loaders."

DPW workers came in early Tuesday morning to clear out downtown parking lots, starting with the South Avenue train station parking lot, which is free all week for parkers. The North Avenue train station lot and the lot behind Panera Bread looked clear, with issues in the parking lot behind Starbucks. A section of the lot, closest to the Rialto and Thinka Dinka remained unplowed, causing drivers to back-up in the lot. The Elmer Street exit of the lot was reduced to one way, causing traffic back-ups on Elmer Street when cars sought to enter and exit at the same time.

Skibitsky said that the section on the Elmer Street lot was not cleared due to cars parked in the lot. He said that the DPW will be heading back to the lot once the cars are removed to clear the remaining section.

"It is a balance and we are trying to get things done with the resources we have," Skibitsky said about snow removal.