Carson City Public Works: Plan ahead for snow removal if you're on less-trafficked streets
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 03/09/2023 - 8:30am
Snow removal in Carson City continues to be heightened as relentless storms pile up the berms and test the patience of people living in less-trafficked neighborhood streets.
Carson City Public Works, which has been operating its snow removal efforts 24-hours daily in two, 12-hour shifts since the beginning of the year, understands the frustration among those living on the less-trafficked streets.
"We would love to put a smile on everyone's face who are not in the priority area and plow them out, but that is not feasible," said Rick Cooley, Public Works Operations Manager, noting this is an unusual year, with storm after storm dumping several inches at a time, without much temperature warmup in between storms to help melt the snow.
The city takes care of the priority roads first which may mean less-trafficked streets and cul-de-sacs are not in the top three priority areas for snow plowing.
"We live in snow country. The reality is most people don't think about adverse weather conditions until it happens and that's the problem. They are affected and want us to address their immediate needs," he said. "We try to be fair to everyone. If we went and plowed cul-de-sacs or streets outside of the priorities, we would do then have to do them all. And that's what's not feasible."
The city's plow priority protocol is as follows:
Priority 1: On all main arterials considered to be the minimum network which must be kept open to provide a transportation system connecting hospitals, emergency medical services/fire stations and law enforcement.
Priority 2: On all remaining arterials, selected collectors, bus routes and around schools.
Priority 3: On all other collectors completing the network covering the major traffic volume streets and selected "hot spots" such as intersections, hills, and known handicapped routes, all remaining streets, such as residential and local streets.
Cooly advises that residents plan ahead of time to have a plan for snow removal.
"Whether its your kids, your grandkids, or hiring a contractor or local landscape contractor ahead of time to do snow removal when it snows. Having a plan in place ahead of time is the best bet," he said.
"But you really have to plan in advance before winter hits because when a storm hits, all the (snow removal) contractors are going to be doing snow removal first for those (residents) who have already established a snow removal plan," he said.
Working together as neighbors, they can split the costs of snow removal so their less-trafficked streets and cul-de-sacs that are not on the city's priority lists are cleared after each storm, said Cooley.
"Get together ahead of time. Reach out to one another ahead of time to develop a snow removal plan," he said.
