Navigating the City
If you live in a cul-de-sac, the City asks you to park off the street during snows as much as possible to ensure the best possible plowing can be done. It's been an issue this winter, and we want to do as good a job as we can.
Slippery conditions: If you don't see salt trucks, expect the streets to be bad. Just expect it. There are miles and miles of streets, and it takes time to get to all of them. I'd love to have my hill (and your hill, and your street) taken care of right away, but our best defense is to remember that it's winter. Don't drive more than necessary, and expect the other person on the streets not to know how to travel in the snow.
Deep snow and plowing: The City doesn't even start plowing until the snow is 4 inches deep. Whether this is a good plan or not, it's policy. The City also doesn't guarantee that it will keep your sidewalk's clear, your curb cuts clear, your mailboxes clear or anything else clear of the snow it plows. Some drivers are more careful than others.
Drivers plow the snow during the night and into the morning. That's because most of us aren't driving then -- and the snow plow drivers can clear most of the snow away.
PLEASE GET YOUR CARS OUT OF THE STREET if you can. The snow plow drivers will clear more snow that way. And if you can, please clear the storm sewers of mounded snow -- when the snow begins to melt again, we want it to run into those storm sewers, not into our basements.
We all learned in the first big snow that the City's interactive map that shows where the plows are . . . that it's not yet truly interactive and it doesn't update in real time. The staff did update it, but mostly after all the plowing was complete. Also, not all of our streets showed up on the map, and some of us questioned whether we should be the last ones cleared . . . However, it was fun to look at. If you haven't been, here's the link:
http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/fieldoperations/Pages/StreetSnowPlowingStatus.aspx
As always, I'll try to help get the plows to your streets if somehow you've been missed. It takes 24 hours or so after the snow stops for everything to be finished if it's a massive snow, less if it's just a little snow (6 inches should count as a little snow; 12 inches as a big snow; 24 inches as a snow worth staying inside for!).
And call or email if you have questions or concerns. I'll try to get back to you quickly.You may reach the snow desk at 994-2359.
Please contact me at 995-3518 or sbriere@a2gov.org.
