Annapolis crews not backing down, continue to plow through storm
“There is no city or county government that is geared up to move all of this snow.”
–Gov. Martin O’Malley, Feb. 10, 2010
Mayor Cohen wants residents to know that the City of Annapolis is working around the clock and has pulled in several contractors to make our roads passable and ensure public safety. Deteriorating weather conditions have forced other jurisdictions across Maryland and Virginia to pull plows off the roads. We continue to plow in Annapolis. The mayor thanks you for your patience during these unprecedented snow events over the past week.
Great job this week! I was not happy after the December snow (guessing it took the city by surprise), but this has been a tremendous effort and a fabulous job. Thanks.
Snow removal rating
Let’s face it – these were storms of proportions that would make a New Englander (like me) take a deep breath. The City simply does not have the equipment to keep up with storms of these proportions, in spite of the former Mayors swipe. But about every 10 years we do get significant dumps and perhaps it is time that we look at making some alternative arrangements. But then again, everyone wants but no one is willing to pay.
I will say, however, three days after The Big One, Bay Ridge Ave was in horrible condition. Cars were slip-sliding sideways and trying to drive down the middle of the road when possible to avoid the ruts and holes. Watergate Village scraped all their parking lots down to bare pavement with a pickup/plow and a couple of bobcats. Exactly WHY were the city plows not able to do that? At least for West St/Forest Drive/Bay Ridge Ave perimeter? Cars that were all over the road on Bay Ridge also had to contend with pedestrians who were forced to walk in the street. More on that shortly. And what was with the snowplows driving over these road with their plows up? Perhaps there were indeed legitimate reasons, but as they say in politics – perception is everything and the impression was not good. Yet the young woman at Public Works insisted that it was “passable” and that the temperatures were not right for salt mixtures to work – which was not correct. I know she was in a difficult position, fielding a lot of irate phone calls and probably working from a script. She also insisted that people should not be in the streets which was an unfortunate statement. Some of us had to get to work and very few of us could be picked up in a 4WD vehicle and brought to work.
My bigger beef is that of sidewalks. We have a city ordinance that requires sidewalks to be cleared yet no one in City Hall seems to know who is responsible for enforcing this. I truthfully wonder if it ever has? A $25 fine which no one enforces isn’t worth spit. We need something with more teeth in it – in Boston, for example, you can incur up to a $250 per day fine for not clearing and keeping clear your sidewalks. In Annapolis, probably 65% of the people on Bay Ridge do clear their sidewalks, but shame on those who don’t. And this includes a commercial property with a bus stop and at least 4 out of the 5 CHURCHES along this road. Eastport Shopping Center can manage to do it – what is everyone else’s problem? It appears they apparently have no problem endangering people by forcing them to walk in the street. God may have put the snow there, but if I end up slipping and falling into the road and get hit, it will be me paying my medical expenses.
The Mayor and the crew who worked round the clock are to be commended. The streets are wonderfully clear and I’m amazed at how quickly, after the one-two punch of back to back blizzards, downtown Annapolis streets were cleared. GREAT JOB!!
Josh I just received an email asking me to visit this blog and write something positive is I see it. Well, I am not sure what to make of such a bold solicitation, but seems Mike Miller must have hit a sore spot. Regardless, I have notice the area directly surrounding Cohen’s home is well groomed and that must be a good thing. There Josh, I said something nice, what do I get in return ?
One more thing, Ric Dahlgren has done a wonderful job of keeping the water in my slip plowed.
Josh (or anyone), can you provide an ETA for when the top level of the Hillman garage will be open? There is currently a crew up there heaving snow over the side to lessen the weight load, but the folks at the exit window didn’t know when they would be done, or even if that would be enough to open the upper deck for parking. The rest of the garage is understandably nearly full with cars of neighborhood residents, and we at First Presbyterian are trying to figure out what to tell our congregation about the availability of parking for Sunday services.
John, thanks for your comment. Our best estimate is that our crew will have the top deck of the Hillman Garage cleared of snow by the end of the day tomorrow (Saturday). I am hesitant to state this definitively but it is safe to expect that it will be open in time for Sunday services.
Josh
Mayor Cohen:
As a tax paying citizen I am happy to observe the tremendous amount of job done by City Public Works staff. However, it will be nice if the major (drag) streets leading to over 100 homes (like President Street towards the Point) are cleared all the way to the end of the street as opposed to stopping short, like in this case, right in front our house at 200 President Street. Please get the wonderful crew at Public Works to complete clearing entire streets. And yes, thanks for a very tough snow clearing job, given the sheer quantity os snow removal!
I guess living one block off Main Street (Cornhill) doesn’t qualify us for plowing as of 1:35pm on Feb. 11th. And when a plow does go down our street, it plows about six inches high which just makes the ruts which freeze at night that much harder to traverse!
Please help the little people, Mayor!
OK, Josh, bring that plow over to the lower part of South Stree, Anne’s Lane and Shaw Street please. Many of us have moved cars off those streets so that they can be plowed. When the cars must come out of the city garage, we will have no place to park if these streets don’t get cleared. (These streets are also used by court employees, visitors, police, etc. so clearing them will help a lot!) Thanks for being present and involved with the clean-up.
Dear Josh,
I understand that this was a once-in-a-lifetime storm, but it appears that some side streets have been plowed multiple times, while others not at all. In an earlier post, you referred to a plow hitting a neighborhood 3 times! But my street in Hunt Meadow has not been plowed once. Is there a system in place for tracking what has and hasn’t been plowed? Cars have been navigating the street because it has been packed down by those with large trucks, but I am more than reluctant to attempt it with my 3 young children in the car. A better plan needs to be in place for future storms–this is an issue that effects both the public safety and job security of your residents.
Might there be an untapped resource in finding more people who can plow? Volunteers? Training can’t be that hard, and I am sure that you would find more than twenty volunteers to help during emergencies like these. Could save money and provide a sense of ownership for the commmunity. I would also like to recognize the fact that the Naval Academy offered Mid-shipman to shovel driveways and walkways. Thank you for your contribution.
Jsoh, I am glad you got out of your neighborhood without any problems. I did notice that many other streets like mine for instance are not up to snuff thus making Mike Millers comments more than appropriate.
Could the City please help the Eastport residents get around? Eastport is a mess, 4th Street between Chesapeake & Chester has not seen a plow for either storm, Chesapeake is a disaster, 5th Street between Severn & Chesapeake has not been plowed but 5th St between Chesapeake & Chester is plowed down to black top, cars are getting stuck on Chester and spinning wheels on 4th.
Wow, people here is very important to the mayor. Well I think I will have to wait for the sun to melt the snow in my community (Oxford Landing) because I don’t think they are going to clean our street.
Ok Josh, the storm is over. What have you on tap for the Market House ? Spring is right around the cormer and its time to get the Downtown Economy moving again.
Josh: I live on Lockwood Court in Eastport and to this date(2/12/10) there has not been a plow down our street. As a result we have a foot of packed snow and ice. Many of the side roads in Eastport are barely passible. State Street was hand shoveled by it’s residents yesterday. If the City is going to prohibit it’s residents to hire private contractors then the City is obligated to protect the safety of it’s residents by having the streets plowed. Our neighborhood has one of the highest property taxes in the State and you would think that we would get our fare share of a City plow! Looking forward to your response, Margaret Thalenberg
Finally, after numerous calls to the city ……..I called the emergency number yesterday and made my complaint once more. Last night (2/15) the front loaders finally came down Lockwood and Creek and worked for hours removing the snow that has been there since the first storm! Thank you to the workers for heading our way and making our street safer. Thank you to “Debbie” from the Dept. of Water and Sewer” who took my call yesterday and passed my message on to the crew. After numerous calls to the City over the last 10 days, this was the first response I received that was positive.
I have yet to get a response from the Mayor after numerous calls and emails. More direction is need in the event of bad weather. I would hate to think of how a storm like Isabel would have been handled under this leadership.
I agree with the initial focus of making the secondary roads passable, but I live in a neighborhood where some of the roads have been front-end loaded and plowed multiple times and are down to the pavement while others like mine are not passable yet unless you have a truck (after each storm). I live on the Smith end of Spa View Ave which is not yet passable. The other end of the street was hit by the front-end loader and plows after the first storm but it seems that our block was more or less forgotten. Mr. Hartley of the Capital reported yesterday that the plow came down our street and the driver radioed for a flont-end loader but I’ve only seen a small pickup truck with a plow and have yet to see that front-end loader. My neighbors have taken to shoveling the street. Please help.
The comment on Classie Hoyle is (no pun intended) classless. She’s 73 years old. Perhaps Adam, who appears to be intimately familiar with the area around her home AND to have lots of free time to make nasty comments on blogs, should instead spend his time helping this senior citizen clear her sidewalk.
Good Morning. While I too join in the big THANK YOU to all, I’m still in an area that has yet to see a plow. We live in Mariner’s Point behind Bay Ridge Shopping Center. The main thoroughfare has been plowed, but our culdesacs have not. We are trapped. People have tried on their own, only to get stuck and create frozen ruts that some cars cannot navigate.
We stopped several crew at the intersection of Windwhisper and Yachtman’s – only to be told that we were LAST on the schedule for removal. They also recognized, as do we, that we need a backhoe to remove the snow, not a plow since it is a cul-de-sac.
It would be lovely if just one back-hoe would show up before the next snowfall. I’ve called the public works office – twice – and left informative messages, but alas, I’m just a citizen of Annapolis, but not important enough to get plowed.
That was quick. Plow just made a pass on Brashears St. Thanks!
As of Friday morning, the sidewalks in front of the old Evening Capital site on West Street between Monticello and Southgate have not been touched. This route is heavily traveled, especially in the late afternoon and early mornings by kitchen staff who work downtown in the restaurants. Pedestrians are forced to walk in the travel lanes of West Street. While I realize you can’t ding every property owner for failure to clear their sidewalks, this is a large property on a major thoroughfare and they are creating a dangerous situation by their failure to comply with the law.
Thank you Josh!! The trucks were out here at 4am and are still working on clearing the roads. Three families on our block have kids who go to school at NAPS and all three made it out this morning on time.
We ALL really appreciate what you did to help us out!! Our kids do too!
PLEASE make a plow pass today on Brashears street in Eastport. We have not seen a plow on storm 1 or 2. Thanks.
I live in Eastport and most of our roads are not plowed. I got stuck this morning at the intersection of Jefferson and Wells. It took an hour of digging and 3 men pushing (at least we have helpful neighbors!) to get out. Two blocks away the roads are down to blacktop. One of the men who lives on that corner said last night the ambulance got stuck at the same place for an hour and required a hummer to pull it out. I would have thought that after that the city would have sent a plow immediately! That is the regular route for the ambulance to get back to the fire station on Bay Ridge. But I guess not. I have to agree with Sen Miller (and believe me it pains me to say that) that it is disgraceful and the residents deserve better.
Ambulance, 4×4 and AAMC personal stuck from 12am-5am THIS morning at Jefferson and Wells (the Mayor’s old neighborhood and street!!!!) please help us at this corner.
Rob Levit
I am on Windwhisper Lane, in the Georgetown Grove section. This road is 4 wheel drive only, barely, and is an absolute mess. I do not understand how this street has been missed, when all other surrounding streets have been plowed. People are frequently getting stuck, and I am now missing work because of this situation. Help, can’t you please send someone down here!
Woke up this morning and Constitution has been plowed.
THANK YOU for the quick response. Much appreciated!!!
Overall, the City of Annapolis crews have done a remarkable job given the magnitude of these historic blizzards. I hope they get some well deserved acknowledgments and rest!
Felicia Barlow Clar
Yes, Im a City employee. I just wanted to thank the Lady at King George Street for the bottle water you gave each Loader operator and truck driver thursday afternoon. I think we all need a 80 degree day! I will be back scraping roads again today…non stop since last Friday.I have met many people that were very thankful that we are trying to do our best!
Josh and DPW: Great job!!! My wife and I were out and about this afternoon
and saw that much of the historic district was very navigable. Those major
roads that hadn’t been finished (Maryland Avenue, King George, etc) were
being worked on as we traveled. Down West Street, across to Eastport, and outBay Ridge and Hilltop were all passable and in many places clear pavement. Given the magnitude of the job, I think it’s remarkable that the street were in as good condition as they were. My streets (South Cherry Grove and Catlyn Place) are not in very good shape, but with care they are drivable.
Well done!!! Bob
Mayor Cohen:
We’ve been extremely patient, but after going out this evening in our 4 WD vehicle, we noticed our street is one of the only streets left that hasn’t been attended to (Constitution Avenue). We stopped a city plow driver this evening and he said he was getting right to it and was calling in some back hoes to actually remove the snow. He came up to the corner of Amos Garrett and Constitution, turned around and NEVER returned! We have mounds of snow on both sides that need to be attended to ASAP, Please!!
Thanks so much! The Clars
hi Josh,
Do you think we can get the one last block of Franklin Street plowed? We have school tomorrow on time at NAPS and there’s no way we’re getting out without some help. It’s probably no more than 50ft so please if you can ask your plows to go just a little further, we might get to school tomorrow.
We would really appreciate it!
Thanks!
Laura
Laura, thanks for your comment. I’ve asked our late night shift supervisor to make sure it gets done before 7 a.m. If it’s not done by then please let me know.
Josh
Josh, Thank you for your and the DPW efforts in these highly unusual snow storms. I would venture to say over half the people posting here have never heard of a former mayor, John Apostle, whose famous quote after a similar situation was, “God brought it, God will take it away”.
I would like to thank Mayor Cohen, Gail Smith and the Public Works Department for work above and beyond the call of duty. On Monday at 11:18am it was announced that free parking for city residents was extended until 8pm that evening. I spoke with Gail around 11:45am about the great job that had been done in clearing the travel lanes on the snow emergency routes, but that the parking spaces were still piled with 3-5 feet of snow and that there was nowhere for residents to park. Gail promised to speak with others at city hall (I assume that mearnt Josh). At 12:23, within 40 minutes of speaking with Gail, an announcement came from city hall that the free resident parking had been extended in the city garages until further notice. We should all thank the administration for their quick thinking, adaptability and prompt response to a citizen concern. Thank you.
Hi Mr Stout, Per your questions: I was born and raised in Annapolis- specifically the Parole area. I am still a resident of Annapolis. I put my trash out every other week, so it may or may not have been picked up and unfortunately…my street is still not plowed. I voted for Trudy McFall and to be honest, I don’t know that another Administration would have been able to handle a snow of this magnitude any better that the Cohen Administration. It has been a pleasure blogging with you.Respectfully yours.
Sorry to say it looks like a warzone in town. As soon as I approach from any direction it’s like crossing into noman’s land, even the sidewalks at the postoffice are iced and snow covered. Cudo’s for that?
Josh –
The 700 block of Annapolis Neck Road (annexed into the city 3 yrs ago) is desperate for a plow. We’ve had one plow pass in a week, barely passable by 4WD, and the plow left 3 foot encrusted blockages in the middle of the road before our dead end turn around loop, which is the only way emergency vehicles, schoolbuses, and BGE trucks can turn around. We are on a major trunk line for powerline transmission. Why is our turn around loop not plowed AT ALL? Please don’t tell me that the last 75 yards of the road (turn around loop) belongs to the County so its not plowed by City? Need service, please! Thanks!
In a few days this snow will be a distance memory. The budget, however, will still be way in the red. Josh, the snow plow wars are not going to ruin your career ( though your ego might in your attempt to please Mike Miller) the budget is your main concern.
Don’t you agree Josh?
Thank you Mayor !
Practice makes perfect !
This has certainly been a tremendously trying time for everyone in and around Annapolis. While we are grateful that the main arteries (West St and Chinquapin Round Rd) are clear, many of us in Germantown-Homewood are unable to even get out of our driveways never mind getting to West St. Shovel the sidewalks? Who can even find the sidewalks under all that snow. Several residents on nearby Virginia St. paid a bobcat owner to shovel out the street. Our neighbors were gracious enough to make their snow plow available to many of the neighbors thereby easing our back pain. When will the city send some serious plows down South Southwood Ave, not pick up trucks with the plow up.
We just moved from Eastport to Epping Forest and the roads were all clear by the end of the day yesterday. Good job AA County. To all our friends back in the city, drive safe!
How come Classie D. Hoyle never clears off the sidewalk in front of her house after a snowstorm?
Her house is on a busy part of Forest Drive which probably sees no less than 50 pedestrians a day.
If there will be any fines for not clearing sidewalks, I do hope Classie is one of the first since she is elected to make such laws in the first place.
Anonymous, I appreciate your point of view and perspective, I truly look at the big picture & on most things agree with what you have said but you did not answer my questions as to City services & neither has Mayor Cohen, how long did you or the Mayor go without trash/recycling pick up from the1st snow storm? As I said earlier, this is the 3rd snow storm, I have yet to see a plow on my road & did not have my trash picked up for 3 weeks. When I asked the garbage collector on the 8th, why I had not seen him in 3 weeks, he responded that our road was not plowed and it was not safe to come down here. I can only wonder how long it will be before I have trash pick up now. I guess my perspective would not be so jaded, if 1) I did not see 2 people driving around in most of the city vehicles with the plows up & 2) that I have tried to be extremely courteous to the plow truck drivers and had personal conversations with 3 of them all to no avail with feeble excuses on why they can not do it, but every side street off of Edgewood Road was plowed prior to the 3rd snow storm except for ours. 3) 4 wheel drive or not, I can no longer get out onto the streets of Annapolis that are apparently so well plowed.
I did also drive down Bay Ridge Avenue 2 days ago and thought the condition of the road, a major route, was appalling, granted the Mayor says they have back hoes there but why was it in such bad condition days after the storm? I have researched that the City has 87 miles of road to plow is 87 miles Emergency Routes or the entire city, I hope that it is 87 miles of Emergency Routes but again if that is the case how could Bay Ridge Avenue be in such a state.
I am simply a common citizen & recognize that my plight is a microcosm of what has gone on in the snow removal. But it really does matter who you are, are you even a City resident, are you a contributor to Josh Cohen’s campaign or do you have any other bias? I’ll even go on the record and say I voted for Josh Cohen but if the election were held tomorrow & I could get to the polls I would reconsider. 1 of the problem with today’s technology is that people can post their opinions without taking any responsibility and what kind of society is that condoning?
Believe it or not, I have never posted on a blog before and if it wasn’t for the fact that this seems to be the venue the Mayor has chosen for selected communication I would not be on here now.
Mr Mayor, it has now been 5 days and not a singe plow has bothered to plow one half of Spa View Avenue. To add insult to injury, one plow came to our street (yea!) but then backed out because his truck wasn’t big enough (boo!). Today, another plow, on a big truck, drove by but wouldn’t plow us out. No, but he did “plow” a street which already has been plowed twice. Why did we do so much better in 2003?
I strongly recommend that you read today’s New York Times and note the article about city mayors who couldn’t get reelected mainly because they were so inept at handling the snow removal bureaucrats. The author forgot another mayor of Chicago, Mayor Byrne, who was tossed out principally because she couldn’t handle the snow removal bureaucracy, and infuriated the voters.
Take heed, Josh. Voters never forget being put in danger by politicians. To plow Snow Emergency Roads sounds nice, and should be done. But, what good does it do for the family with a father who suffers a heart attack, or the family whose home goes on fire, or the family which needs police help? In each of these cases, no ambulance, fire truck or police car can traverse Spa View Road. We won’t forget that, with the sizable taxes we pay, you chose to ignore and jeopardize us.
Mayor Cohen,
Let me commend you on the government’s efforts to keep us safe during this storm. The information flow you have established with the postings on the City website and other means has been essential. The main thoroughfares are passable and I know that efforts are being made to clear the side streets. On that note, I come to my main comment. Please don’t forget the little guys. I live on Locust Ave (off of West Street), which has yet to be plowed from any storm in the four years I’ve lived here. The narrowness of the street is a factor I’m sure, but if the City is contracting out the plowing service then I imagine there are other machines that could do the job on this and similar streets. This may be one more gripe to add to the many you already have received, but I’m just throwing it out there. Still, I think you all are doing a great job. Thank you.
“Plenty of snowballs are being thrown at his teams, which consist of 20 workers who are pulling eight-hour shifts. For a normal snowfall, they’d work 12-hour shifts. But 8-hour shifts help cut overtime costs”,Couchenour said.
Proof its about saving money not helping the citizens
quoted From http://www.arundelmuckraker.com/storyview.asp?STORYID=10146
Thank you for your response Mr. Stout for bringing some excitement to this blog. WHO I am is irrelevant and I don’t need your respect, but I will respect you nonetheless. My point is this, we live in a city where the public services are fairly good. While you may not think so when it comes to plowing, turn on the tv. Don’t get me wrong, I was ticked and errked just a few days ago- but you see, I got a quick reality check. Sure, we all hope our taxes are being allocated appropriately, and more importantly, we hope the employees are actually plowing and not riding around with the plow up- wasting gas. The sun is out, the snow is melting and tracks have been made by the SUV owners. Just saying, this snow issue will be as big a deal as we make it- and it doesn’t need to be.
Clarification: My post on Feb. 10 had the time frame right (“last night”) but the day of the week wrong. It was Tuesday evening, not Monday. This was the 3rd day after the end of the (1st) snowstorm and there was no state of emergency nor any restrictions on driving. I had dug out and gone to work, as had everyone else who was able to get out. My observation about Forest Drive also should have said Tuesday PM, not Monday.
Incidentally, I took a chance on Bay Ridge Ave today and, 1 day after the (2nd) storm, its condition is hugely improved. Some areas are narrow, but it’s completely navigable.
Not that I give any respect to anyone posting under Anonymous but if my city taxes were not paid I am certain I would have people all over me about it. The bottom line starting with the 12/19-12/20 snow storm our street was never plowed we did not get any trash or recycling pick up until the 8th of January. How long did you go w/o city services? This is now the 3rd snow storm that we have gone without basic services. I have been pleasant to the drivers but I am tired of watching these City employees drive around collecting what I am sure is overtime pay and not doing anything or making feeble excuses as to why they can not.
It’s very easy for those who can get out of their neighborhood, or are retired, or can work from home, to tell the rest of us that can’t to “chill out” and heap praise upon the DPW. The issue is not with the DPW workers who are doing what they are told and are working very hard, but it is with the leaders, providing the direction. After the December storm, my street was never plowed. Was essentially told by DPW, “oh well, sorry, we’ve done all we’re going to do”.
No sign of a plow this time either. Now the snow is so high, the small city plows will not be able to handle the job, so, guess what, we won’t be plowed again. Without a high-clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicle, you can’t get out, can’t get to work, can’t get to the store. God help us if we need any emergency equipment to get to the middle of the block.
The governor says not to complain about not being “down to the pavement, that will take 72 hours”, heck, I’d just like a foot or two shaved down so I can get out. But, because nothing was done early, it will be impossible now.
Signed,
Trapped on Carriage Run Road
By the way- even if Josh did get special treatment by way of a Plow… he is the MAYOR after all. I would want it too!
Bless your heart Josh… you know setting this blog up just opened the flood gates. I thought I was bad, but my LAWD! Some of you are a bunch of cry babies. It was a SNOW STORM you know… sit down somewhere and relax. Did you see those people on the news who didnt have power all weekend.. or worse, the ones still with out power. CHILLLAX. I want my street clear too.. but I much rather read your blog.