Monday Snow Report: Slow Progress
Dear fellow Annapolitans:
Your city government has been working non-stop to clean up one of the largest snowfalls our area has seen in a century. Since snow began falling last Friday, shifts of personnel have been working 24 hours a day to clear the roadways. As of Monday morning we had four large trucks, three small trucks, two front-end loaders, one backhoe and one tractor all working hard. Despite these efforts, it will still be several days before plows are able to reach every street.
SCARCE RESOURCES
A common question I hear is, “Why hasn’t the city plowed my street yet?” The answer is that the City does not have the capacity to promptly plow all streets after a snowfall of this magnitude. The city has enough equipment to handle a typical snowstorm, but not one like this. Looking ahead, we will consider whether to invest taxpayer dollars in expanding our fleet to better handle the occasional five-or ten-year blizzard. But for now, we are allocating our scarce resources as best we can.
PRIORITIZATION OF ROADS
With 88 miles of city roads, the city prioritizes which streets to plow first. First we work to make all Snow Emergency Routes passable, then Snow Connector Routes, and finally side streets and cul-de-sacs. As of this morning we have made all Snow Emergency Routes passable as well as most Snow Connector Routes. Our crews are now turning their attention towards side streets. (Click here for a map that shows your street’s designation.)
The side streets are very slow going, and it will be several days before our crews are able to reach every side street. Unfortunately, even our snowplows have been getting stuck because of the sheer volume of snow. As a result, in some cases we are having to send in front-end loaders before sending in snow plows. As you can imagine, this is very slow going.
If you live on a side street, despite the best efforts of our crews, it may be several days before a snow plow is able to reach your street.
The declaration of a State of Emergency has enabled us to seek assistance from the Maryland National Guard and we have requested heavy equipment to assist us. If that equipment arrives it will speed our process, but either way we are still looking at several days before before all roads are passable.
“PASSABLE” VS. “CLEAR”
Our objective is to make roads passable, which is different than making roads clear down to bare pavement. The hard packed snow from vehicle tracks, combined with persistent below-freezing temperatures, make it impossible for plows to clear roads down to bare pavement. The best we can hope for is to make roads passable, which is defined as one lane that is traversible by a front-wheel drive vehicle.
LONG HAUL
Unfortunately it will be several days, perhaps even into next week, before every road and side street is passable. The forecast for additional snow Tuesday and Wednesday will only prolong our cleanup efforts. I ask for Annapolitans’ patience and cooperation as we work together to dig out from an historic snowfall.
Please check on your elderly, sick and shut-in neighbors. Anyone in need of shelter should contact the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services at 410-421-8400 or 410-863-4888.
For the latest updates visit www.Annapolis.gov. And please give a thumbs-up to a snowplow driver when you see one driving by. Your city employees are working admirably despite being outgunned by Mother Nature’s overwhelming force.
Best regards,
Josh
Please send plow to dominoe road off Forest drive. No plows have been there.
Thank you Concerned. A plow had previously gone down Dominoe Road but had to turn back after it got stuck. We are sending another one back down there.
Josh
I WORK FOR THE CITY,I HAVE BEEN WORKING NON-STOP SINCE FRIDAY.THE SNOW WE HAVE BEEN PLOWING IS 28” DEEP.IT IS VERY HARD TO PLOW WHEN YOU HAVE CARS PARKED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET AND PEOPLE WALKING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.THIS SLOWS OUR OPERATION DOWN.I WAS ON CHARLES STREET RUNNING A FRONT END LOADER PEELING THE ICE FROM THE PAVEMENT WHEN I STRUCK A MANHOLE COVER BRINGING ME TO A SUDDEN STOP.THIS JOLTS YOUR BODY MAKING YOU FEEL EXTREME PAIN.THE RESPONSE I GOT FROM ONE RESIDENT WAS “ITS ABOUT TIME” I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO RIDE WITH ME FOR ONE HOUR SO THAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT OUR CREWS DEAL WITH DURING THIS HUGE SNOW EVENT.THERE WERE ALOT OF THANK YOU’S OUT THERE AND WE ARE TRYING OUR BEST! PLEASE BE PATIENT.
“SHAKEN”
Stop complaining about everything…they are doing the best they can with what is available. Where are you going… everything is closed. Relax enjoy your time and grow up its not the end of the world.
Bay Ridge Avenue is a complete joke considering it’s supposed to be an emergency snow route and a main artery for down in the Eastport area.
Since my trash was not picked up today does than mean my too high quarterly water/sewer/trash bill is going to be reduced to reflect the lack of service.
Also, Sunday the city website reminded us that we had to have the sidewalks cleared by 8:00PM Sunday or face a fine. Since my street has not been cleared by 8:00PM does that mean I get to reduce my property tax bill? I doubt it
It is 9 PM on Tuesday, Feb. 9. I heard that a city truck WITH THE MAYOR INSIDE made a first pass with a plow in our Ambridge neighborhood late this afternoon. I’m sorry to report that you DID NOT MAKE A CIRCLE IN THE CUL DE SAC on Langdon Ct. if you came down this far at all. I am 72 years old and have cleared my driveway to the street. IT IS ANOTHER 25 FEET TO A POINT WHERE I COULD DRIVE ON A PATH CLEARED BY A NEIGHBOR’S JEEP! I simply cannot shovel that much snow, nor would I have to if you had just made a circle in the cul de sac as plows have always done in the past. You simply must send a plow down here and take care of residents on the left (west) side of the cul de sac. It would be impossible to get an emergency vehicle near my home if it was needed. 410-263-5812
Thank you Carol. A plow will head back down Langdon Court Wednesday and will do a circle as best it can, while avoiding the parked cars.
Josh
Please tell me the lack of efforts in Hunt Meadow have nothing to do with political reasons…..
The City Government is doing a terrible job of plowing. They did not shovel the sidewalks for the pedestrians and I notice many walkways are full of ice on my way to work. In other words, the City people are not doing their job. They plow the main roads but not the side streets and sidewalks. I fell twice and I am pretty sore. There is no place to walk from Taylor Ave to Grauls. Something needs to be done with all that snow on the sidewalks from Rowe Blvd, Taylor Ave through downtown in Annapolis. The City Government needs to plow the neighborhood streets and shovel the sidewalks. We are paying taxes for their service but I do not see any results. The main roads are looking good but not all other majors concerns have been touch like sidewalks.
The number of people needing medical treatment and unable to get out is disturbing.
There are various non-profits around that will offer 4WD transport, but they may not be too well known.
Josh–maybe put together a list of people (good job for Gail?) with 4WD vehicles that can travel the streets and help these people.
We do not want to tax the fire department for non emergency transport calls in a city wide emergency. This is a perfect opportunity for a volunteer effort.
Hunt Meadow residents are essentially on their own…with no help from Annapolis City or Annapolis DPW. Yes, HUNT MEADOW DRIVE is a priority per the DPW Snow Removal Map and was passable. (Ok, HM Drive is an ice rink. Grab your spouse, and I’ll provide music and commentary).
To their credit, DPW front-end loaders and dump trucks were digging and hauling in the vicinity of Riding Ridge, allowing those in that area well deserved relief and access for food, gas, etc. BUT, most Hunt Meadow residents have had to take matters into their own hands.
Some neighbors had to call friends that have snow plows, some burned out their snow blowers clearing the CITY street, and many more have hand shoveled, and shoveled, and shoveled…the best that they can (pass the BenGay!)…with more snow to come. We in Hunt Meadow have the greatest in community spirit and neighbor to neighbor teamwork. BUT, we have a City government that has taken credit for OUR hard work.
After speaking with the drivers and corresponding with DPW, I sent the very clear message that Carriage Run Road was not passable. All of us pulled our cars off the street to make the DPW heavy duty snow removal easier. No promises, but set things up for the City and the hard working crews. (I even set up hot chocolate.) Boy, did I learn something!!
When I called DPW this afternoon, they claimed that Carriage Run was done! They were here today! Oh, really? By who? Annapolis DPW took credit for our hand digging and hard, back-busting work, but 90% of the road still needs to be done. And your hot chocolate is getting cold!
The road has the slight “appearance” of being plowed. In reality it is simply mashed down, NOT PASSABLE.
Well, we have giant mountains of snow…hmmmm…maybe some of the Winter Games could be held in Hunt Meadow? That’s one way to make the bucks needed to hire our own snow removal team and send the City packing.
Joke from my kids: What did the frog say about the amount of snow? “It’s neeedeeep, neeedeeep!”
Thank you James. We have sent plow into Hunt Meadow several times. Most of the streets are side streets and are therefore third on our priority list after Snow Emergency Routes and Connector Routes. I applaud Hunt Meadow residents and the community spirit. We are sending more plows back in and will do the best we can, though it will still be slow going.
Josh
Update:
Just contacted Police, Public Works, 24-hr Emergency Public Works, and OEM, and got the reply from all of them that they are unable to put up any signage to block 2-way traffic. As this is a designated emergency snow route, we are getting more than the usual amount of traffic, this is going to turn into a dangerous situation.
I can’t imagine that between 4 departments, we can’t mobilize a couple temporary street signs. I mean, the police usually drive through here 2-3 times an hour (though less since the snow), so I figure it wouldn’t be too hard to stick a few cones up, right?
Thank you Glenn. Have discussed with Chief Pristoop and our Snow Team. We may implement this in the near future, but for now it would be more problematic to implement changes than to deal with what we have. Good suggestion.
Josh
Josh,
I recommend making Clay Street a one way street while we are still in the process of clearing snow. This is a designated emergency snow route, but is impassable as a designed 2 way street, and in certain places impassable as a one way street. I have seen over a dozen cars get stuck in the brief time I’ve been home.
Clay Street is often an under-served community (to be discussed at another time), but in this case it is not only affecting the residents, but all traffic cutting from Upper DTA to Taylor.
I will also make this recommendation to the city police.
the city’s website includes Southgate on the list of emergency routes, but the map – on the same website – shows it as a connector. It’s down to bare pavement in spots, while Lafayette, which is a connector route on both the map and the list, is impassable except with a 4wd vehicle.
Mr. Mayor: In my view, this situation reflects poor management and is a good reason for having a qualified City Manager professionally run the city’s operations. The Capital recently called you to task for not, at least, following the city charter’s criteria for selecting a city administrator. What are your plans for improving management?
Bob Slawson
In my view, this situation reflects poor management, and is a a good reason why we need a City Manager to run the city’s operations on a professional basis. What is your response to The Captal’s recent editorial calling on you to at least follow the city charter’s legal criteria for selecting the city administrator? What are your intentions in this regard?
Rob Slawson
Not sure whether it was my call to DPW or my call to Fred Paone but they are plowing the street. Thanks.
I believe the city is doing as good a job as it can, given its resources, and the city employees appear to be working hard.
I can’t help but wonder how many folks telling the city to buy more equipment and/or sign contracts with private plowing companies will be back in a couple of weeks thumping the mayor and council for spending too much money.
Let’s be nice, everyone, and appreciate what we have, thank our elected leaders and hired employees for doing the best they can with the resources they have, and help each other as needed.
i just got off the phone with a DPW employee. I explained to her that my husband was a recent kidney transplant patient and needed to keep a Thursday medical appointment. I requested that my street Porter Dr. in Admiral Hts. be plowed again before the next snow. She informed me that my street was “passable.” The fact that my car got stuck yesterday and had to be rescued by 4 of my neighbors was of no interest to her nor was my husband’s medical condition. The least you can do is train employees to be polite. I too am a gov’t employee so I am not unsympathetic to their plight. However, you can always treat people decently. Or maybe not.
Thank you for doing the best you possibly can in an EXTREME situation! I lived in Ohio as a child and they were prepared for large snowfalls. Maryland is not used to this amount of snow and it’s really difficult for the city to clear streets as quickly as we would like. My street hasn’t been plowed, but I know it will as soon as they can get to it. This is an unusual snowstorm. We all need to be patient and understanding. Now, lets all think SPRING!
Hey Mr Mayor
the truck your riding around in, is that one of the city workers your going to lay off. You people think we have it bad now, wait until he lay’s off the workers, we will never get out. Oh yes, he did hire outside contractors. He hired the guy that put up his signs on election morning to plow the new Rec Center, and the funny thing about that is. The Rec Dept has 8 snow plows. Way to look out for the people of Annapolis, Mr Obama
Thanks to all city employees and the Mayor for your tireless efforts in clearing the snow. While our street is a designated Snow Emergency Route, it is not down to bare pavement as some other complaining writers have declared. We don’t expect miracles and know that everyone is doing the best they can. We have even heard plowing in the neighborhood in the middle of the night since the snow first started. For those with medical or other issues, hopefully you heeded the well publicized magnitude of this storm and made a plan for how to handle your situation. You can’t rely on “the government” to take care of your every need 24/7; take some responsibility for your self, be prepared and get a grip.
> Children and older people comprise
> most of the residents here.
Really? These children that are too young to shovel all have geriatric parents?
I personally think he has done a good job with plowing the streets and alot faster than some other friends i’ve been talking too.
In my parents city, they dont even plow the roads to the hospitals and the import parts of the city, so its impressive that this much has been done in this little time.
Since trash is not being picked up due to the snow storm. Why not put plows on the trash trucks? They could push snow better than those light pick up trucks that barely can make it on a quote passable street.
Wow, not one single contractor and no rented equipment! It is not about buying more equipment it is about having a back up plan and calling in contractors and renting equipment as needed. Only half the equipent the city is using is even big enough to handle the snow. This is both a commerce and public safety issue. I stayed in bowie during this weekends snow, after being unable to get out during the december snow. The side streets there are clean. Went to Elicott City to dig out a family member yesterday and the streets are also clean there. Even a family member on a side street in rural clavert county has clean streets.(Clean means to bare pavement not just passable.
We should not accept you saying streets will be passable in a week. We should not blame hard working public works employees. but blame rests on our city leaders for not puting a plan in place.
I live downtown and have been told my schedule for passable is wednesday, but it could be another week to passable if it snows tonight. That means almost 2 weeks for passable.
Maybe instead of getting a photo op by city dock as you did in decembers snow, you should come today to water street where no plow has been for your photo op.
Josh you have worked for this city long enough to know the snow needs to be removed in a timely fashion. Public works is the most basic function of city govermnet (ie trash, streets, water, sewer). You must have the basics mastered or you are not qualified. You hired a city admin that has not yet to get qualified to do the job. SO THE BLAME IS WITH YOU.
Dear fellow citizens,
Living on East street twixt the Prince and the King I know full well the frustrations of living on a street that has not been plowed. Taking advantage of the city parking lots prior to the storm Friday sure was a lifesaver for us. Thanks for foreseeing the need of citizins.
Leasing equipment sounds like an idea worth exploring, I wonder weather there are any pieces of equipment in a 200 mile radius that are not being used elsewhere to remove snow? Maybe the mayor can let us know whether this idea has been pursued and if not why?
Hang in there everybody!
A quote from a Canadian farmer.
“The farmer wondered whether the wether would weather the storm or whether the weather would kill the wether.”
wether – def. castrated male sheep
Dear Mayor Cohen,
I was born and raised in Northern New York State and lived there most of my life. We have lived in Annapolis for the past 10 years and it has always amazed us how this area deals with snow. I was astonished to read of the inventory (or lack thereof) of snow fighting equipment. Its a miracle that any street gets plowed with that amount of “fire power”. Rather than invest in the equipment necessary to deal with snowfall of this magnitude, I think that people just need to be patient. The same people complaining about not being plowed out will be complaining about equipment not being used for years at a time.
Keep up the good work.
Tuesday morning and we have yet to see a plow on Water Street. Connecting streets seem to have been
plowed. I have been here 22 years and this only happened once in 1996 when the city mistakenly thought we were a private street. With more snow coming PLEASE get one plow to go through. If I could get my car out I would take it to the garage. We also have some elderly and ill people on our street and in an emergency I don’t know what we would do
The Big TRUCk passed cleaning the street beside us but did not do out street. We have elderly Neighbor’s and females wich i have helped to shovel snow but none of us here are able to use our cars. Please we need help @ Athania st/ wright behind the giant on Aspen Hill shopping Center.
Why doesn’t the city care about the elderly and the sick? My father needs dialysis three days a week to live and the city refuses to plow his street. He is late shift dialysis so not entitled to assistance with driving and cannot get out of his own street. The Public works department just says sorry can’t help you, make other arrangements. I wonder how the ambulance will get him out when he misses too many dialysis appointments. That’s probably not their problem either.
Revise the plan: Snow emergencies like the December hit and these February storms require this city to fundamentally review the approach. With 88 miles of streets a “couple of big trucks and a couple of small ones” doesn’t cut it. It can’t be done solely by the DPW staff… we need peaking resources available to hit the streets only when needed … private contractors ( guys with trucks w/ plows !!) who are mobilized as and when needed. Much more cost effective. Review the spending and reallocate as necessary… this is a public saftey matter as important, or more, than any other priority around here.
First of all there should be no doubt that the snow storm of this past Friday and Saturday was huge. Second almost everyone I know in Annapolis took the advice from our elected officials to stay in our homes and off the streets. So far so good.
Unless the Bembe Beach area was different than the rest of Annapolis it stopped snowing late Saturday afternoon. Here it is Monday night at 11 PM. We here on Elizabeth and Klakring Roads have seen nothing from the City of Annapolis. It has been 2 and 1/2 days since the end of the snow fall and not one plow has even made a pass thru the area. Children and older people comprise most of the residents here and I find the cities response pathetic at best. Communication with the residents and yes voters of the city is great however the inability to deliver even the basic services is terrible.
Last snowfall – last week we got a city truck to come thru once. At least we got that. The December snow storm we saw a small city truck with a plow come thru the evening of the first day of the storm and then nothing after that.
I agree with some of the other posters here in that for the taxes we pay to live in Annapolis we should see slightly better service that what we are getting from our mostly newly elected officials. You asked for 5 days and we are on our third day.
More snow coming tomorrow.
Please send us a plow. Please plow the residents and voters streets in Annapolis – just once before the next storm on Tuesday.
I understand prioritizing the main roads ahead of all the side streets. It’s common sense to get the more popular roads passable first. The problem seems to be that the drivers don’t have a clear view of what is meant by “passable”. The side streets are waiting to be plowed while the main roads are getting scraped and widened and getting closer to being completely clear. On Saturday evening I took a walk along Hunt Meadow Drive. In the hour that I was out there, I saw a plow make three or more passes on that street, even though it was already passable. That’s a resource that could be better used starting in on some of the side streets. Now it’s Monday evening, and although we still haven’t seen a single plow up on our cul-de-sac, plows are still going down Hunt Meadow Drive.
Mayor Cohen, I live on Conduit Street at the corner with Cathedral Street. During the December storm, I had the opportunity to work side by side shoveling snow and helping your snow removal crews on our street as there were no less than three units (pickup truck, front end loader, and dump truck) on Conduit between us and the water as the first two units got stuck and had to be rescued by the third (the dump truck). I was impressed with the effort and morale of the city’s snow removal crews, however they were grossly underequipped. The pick up trucks lacked chains and are far too light to handle anything other than a light dusting of snow. There are not enough pieces of other heavy equipment, either owned by the City, borrowed, leased, or whatever, to get the job done. Utilities like BGE routinely borrow equipment and workers from other companies when many lines are down, Annapolis needs to develop a number of contingency plans.That process should have been started immediately after the December snow. Here we are six weeks later and very little to no visible progress has been made in handling snow removal. DC Mayor Marion Barry had an enormous problem in 1987 when he failed to tackle the city’s snowstorm that year – in contrast to Mayor Barry you are working hard to respond but citizens have to see results soon.
Why I don’t question the hard work and dedication of all the individuals toiling away at clearing the streets, I will question the intelligence and qualifications of their managers all the way up to you Mr. Mayor. My street has yet to see a plow THIS YEAR; for ANY storm. It seems that the city administration has decided to allow the citizens and Mother Nature to do their work for them. Glad to know that services bill I just paid is being put to good use. I never thought anything could make me long for the days when Ellen was in charge. Congratulations on your failure at your first test as our mayor.
Josh, I really appreciate the timely updates on the City’s web site. Please keep this up… Good luck managing it all…
City Gate Lane isn’t yet passable. We pay higher taxes to live in the city. In the City of Annapolis, we live on small lots in clustered housing which should make this manageable with contractor support. Of course the city needs help when the big ones hit, so get the contractors lined up in advance.
Also, parking is a significant problem, in that if lucky enough to leave, your parking space may be gone when you return, & then it’s another 2 hour shovel job. Please extend parking in the city garages to all city residents, instead of just those on the snow emergency routes, and keep the policy in place until the snow has melted.
Like many of the responses I find it hard to understand why so many of our streets haven’t seen even a hint of a snow plow. I understand that priorities must be established but don’t understand why so many vital streets such as Legion Avenue (one of Annapolis’s main post offices) hasn’t been plowed but Tolson Street between Melvin and Monterey was plowed Sunday. Not necessarily a priority for ALL citizens in my book. Think of how many businesses in this town have been negatively impacted by the choice of your priorities.
THANK YOU to the snow plow operator who plowed Colonial Ave. So funny..I commented and then he was here!!
There appears to have been a conscious decision to change the plowing procedures of the past ten years
Now Emergency Routes are scrubbed to bare pavement while residential streets are ignored.
This is a big change and is a matter of public safety.
We are unable to get to get to the plowed Emergency Routes when our streets are impassable.
I don’t believe we should purchase equipment that won’t be used most winters, but why doesn’t the city hire people that have plows when we have an emergency like this? I appreciate the ability to use the city garages, but there is a chance that you won’t get your car back in the lot. Watching a plow go down Southgate this afternoon when the side street, Colonial, only has a walking path, is frustrating. The pile of snow from the plow makes it impossible for a truck to even go up or down Colonial…enough said..
Thanks for the honest assessment of resources available, extent of the problem (HUGE), and expected timetable to get to sidestreets. It is obvious that many many people are working long difficult hours to get the job done. I have no patience for people who can only complain. I live on a sidestreet that likely will not see a plough for at least another day, but the city offered and I accepted the chance to park in a garage and so when I need to get to work I’ll walk to get my car and then drive on priority roadways. I for one appreciate the job our city workers are doing – stay safe!
Thanks for the hard work that everyone is putting into this. I look forward to seeing the plow on Granda Street when you can get to it.
Awful. If there were a medical emergency lots of people in Hunt Meadow would be in major trouble. Many of us have shoveled our own streets. Many people cannot and lots of people still cannot get out. You did a good job last storm (December) but are getting an ‘F’ right now for this storm. Ever thought of getting plow blades for the garbage trucks? Chicago does that.
Snow removal has taken a huge turn for the worst since last year’s election. I understand that there is much to be removed, but there has yet to be even a single plow on my street (Tucker in West Annapolis). If the whole area was in the same situation it would not be so bad, but most of my coworkers, some of which even live in rural areas, are out. City and property taxes are high enough in Annapolis that we should have this covered. We don’t blame the hard working people out clearing, but do wonder about the infrastructure in place…doesn’t seem to be cutting it. Work will suffer becasue of it and cost everyone money. lets work harder for a better plan in the future. the city should be the first area clean!!
I have lived on Roselawn Road for over 50 years and have seen many snow storms. This is the first year that our street was not plowed in a snow storm. Either storm and we hve more snow coming. Not s good sign of how our government is being run.
Mr. Mayor,
I appreciate your style of management of our city. It is a pleasure to see a Mayor reduce costs (like dropping the Sister City budget to zero) and your willingness to communicate.
I have complained about no plowing because I am in business, and am losing money sitting here snow bound. Further, I’m over 70 years old and so are some of my neighbors. It is unsafe here because no ambulance could get to our home or those of neighbors near us.
Lastly, I was here for the blizzard of 2003, and we had this street plowed within 24 hours. And, it was modest “plow,” but allowed our 4WD vehicles to function.
Thank you.
Best, Jim
Why doesnt the city just hire some outside contractors to assist with snow removal, especially with this amount of snow?
Thank you Chrissy, Susan and others who have suggested hiring contractors. We have hired several contractors and are hiring several more. As of noon Wednesday Feb. 10, we have bolstered our city fleet with three front-end loaders, six 20-ton dumptrucks, two skid loaders and a bobcat, all private. We have been publicizing the need for additional assistance and are in the process of hiring still more private contractors.
Josh
Josh, very nicely done. Thank you.
Snow removal and recovery is non existent on our street, Canterfield Road.
Deploy more equipment from the National Guard, use county or city detainees(with supervision),contract with outside removal providers, rent equipment, appeal for city residents who have plows or blowers to volunteer, etc. Do something because another storm is on the way.
Thank you,
Susan Warren