CITY OF RICHMOND
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Tammy Hawley
Monday, February 2, 2010 (804) 646-3110
Mayor and CAO Provide Update on City Snow Removal
~Preparations being made for more winter weather~
Richmond, VA - Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the city's Chief Administrative Officer Byron Marshall held a news conference today to discuss the city's response to snow removal. Citing that all priority one and priority two roads are clear and passable, Jones noted that secondary and residential road work is continuing and that the city is working with contractors who are utilizing the solid waste routes as guidance for the order that clearing is taking place.
Jones noted that the reduction in the city's fleet, which took place in 2004-2005, has had unintended consequences on the city's response time, now that the city has faced the highest snow totals since 1999-2000. The previous fleet reduction resulted in the sale of 17 dump trucks and 19 four-wheel drive pick-up trucks. Those vehicles, a significant asset to the snow removal program, were not replaced. As a result, the response time per route increased from 45 minutes to a minimum of 90 minutes.
"The reduced fleet, as well as personnel cutbacks, along with freezing cold temperatures, has impacted the city's response time to the recent winter storm,” said Mayor Jones. “What is clear to me is that it is imperative that we equip the city with the vehicles, machinery and supplies that are needed to perform the necessary functions and provide timely and efficient service to the residents of the city of Richmond."
The Chief Administrative Officer laid out a number of steps the city is taking:
Snow removal crews will begin plowing at a 2” accumulation, instead of the current 3” accumulation
The Administration will institute a policy of clearing all priority one and priority two roads within 48 hours.
The purchase of 4 highway plows; 12 tailgate spreaders; 4 dual edge reversible plows (barrel trucks) has been authorized.
A complete inventory of all city drivers will be conducted to determine the needs and qualifications for equipment operation.
City inspectors will be provided with four-wheel drive pick-up trucks capable of maintaining a plow and spreader for snow removal. The City will cease purchasing sedans for inspectors, as they are not feasible for alternate use in inclement weather.
Enter into agreements with existing City contractors and others who possess heavy equipment to augment city snow removal forces.
Purchase plows and spreaders to be placed on loan to new or existing city contractors to facilitate snow removal.
Make sure the pending new fleet of 23 solid waste trucks can be fitted with plows to complement the snow removal effort.
Cross train equipment operators in the departments of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and Public Utilities to augment snow removal forces.
"The city has faced significant challenges during this latest period of snow removal. The planned changes in our removal plan, as well the purchase of necessary equipment will better position Public Works crews during future snow events," said Marshall.
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It's good to see the mayor responding to this latest debacle at the hands of the city administrators. It's not rocket science folks...and why purchase additional equipment?
ReplyDeleteThe Utilities department, as well as Parks and Rec has plenty of heavy equipment, such as front end loaders and dump trucks, that could be utilized to remove the snow.
Secondly, it's great to have a plan and nice equipment, but, if the individuals, management and workers, aren't trained and then held accountable, it's just another opportunity to screw things up. Like this past storm....I don't buy into the argument that drivers riding around with the plow up and fully loaded with sand/salt, were on break or off route.
Responsibility and Accountability is what we need, not excuses. If you're not doing or not able to do the job, we need to demand the removal of that person, regardless of position or how long they've been around, so someone else can take a whack at it.
The situation will not change, regardless of whether it's snow removal, crime or services rendered, until we get leadership that is responsible and held accountable.
Yesterday, Sunday, Feb 7th, the 3900 Block of Hanover Ave was dry and sanded and most residents were busy clearing the snow that was mounded from the snowplow that had come through on Saturday so that they could get their cars out. In mid afternoon a city truck equipped with a snow plow came and commenced "plowing" the dry street, apparently intending to clear the street to the curbs, but since there were cars parked along both sides of the street, the snowplow could only redistribute the mounds that were left by Saturday's plowing. Never the less, the driver spent about a half hour re-burying the cars that people had dug out without really accomplishing anything useful. Further, his technique was to pile up snow until his plow would no longer move forward and them back up and ram the pile unitl his blade folded under. This was obviously pointless and was clearly placing undo stress on the equipment that was sure to cause expensive repairs. All this while basically accomplishing nothing!
ReplyDeleteMy point is, isn't there anyone using any judgement as to (a)is there any reason to be wasting effort where it wasn't needed, and (b) is the person using the equipment qualified and competant. Clearly this driver was abusing expensive equipment and accomplishing nothing. That's STUPID!
As a taxpayer I deeply resent the apparent incompetence of whomever was in charge of this "service". Isn't anyone providing leadership and oversight of this operation? I am totally disgusted!