Street Economics

A quick lesson in Street Economics (and no, I'm not referring to Wall Street).
My commute into work on a snowy Christmas day can generally take one of three forms: via the side streets west of I-225 toward Town Center, via the interstate itself, or via Abilene Street, the frontage road for I-225.
I got on Abilene from Iliff and made my way up toward East Mississippi Avenue with virtually no plowing or street-salting done before 1:30 p.m., by which point the snow was about 5 to 6 inches deep depending on the spot. This stretch of Abilene was virtually untouched by anyone looking to alleviate the wintry pain of unrelenting snow for the average resident of Aurora. The top consumer draws for this stretch of Aurora include Amazing Jake's, a few restaurants and an American Furniture Warehouse.
Now take for example the stretch of Abilene north of Mississippi to East Alameda Avenue — home to Sam's Club, the entryway to Exposition (and Wal-Mart and various other businesses), and Town Center at Aurora. Is anyone surprised that the road looked quite nice in comparison to the earlier stretch? You could actually see pavement the entire way from Mississippi to the turn onto Alameda.
As much as I've bickered and complained about the traffic in and around the mall during the holiday season while trying to get to work, the extra attention to the streets on a day when few people braved the roads (and rightly so) benefited yours truly.