Before 10 p.m. Saturday — when less than two inches of snow had fallen — my street had been plowed twice. We heard the plow several more times over the next 8 hours. I don’t know the science or the policy behind keeping streets clear but I was taken aback to see a plow go up and down a street when there is almost nothing to plow but plenty of patched asphalt to dig up.
What happened on your streets last night?
My guess is that my street has been plowed at least four times (and counting). Unfortunately, the shifting nature of the storm from snow to sleet to rain pellets and the coming freeze still make getting around dangerous (that means you too, SUB drivers). I thank the DPW for their efforts.
Sidewalk plow came by about an hour after I had made the sidewalk in front of my house and both next door neighbors spotless.
I wonder if the first few passed last night might have been laying down salt vs actual plowing?
No, they were plowing. I noticed the same thing as Gail. It’s a bit mystifying in light of the Mayor’s decision to pre-treat the roads before this storm. I’d love to see the actual numbers on how much money the Mayor’s pre-treat decision supposedly saved. I suspect it’s the exact opposite and actually ended up costing more.
They were plowing my street when there was barely anything and kept doing it and now it is covered in a very thin layer of slush and ice. I was mystified by the frequent plowing last night.
email at 5:11 pm tonight from the Mayor sounds like they are throwing in the towel for the night. I don’t get it
Mayor Fuller explained last year that the plows need to keep coming back to ensure the drainage is free and clear. First they want to get the roads clear. But then they need to come back to widen that so the snow melt – when it occurs – has some place to go.
@Claire,
The email indicated crews were being sent home in shifts to get some rest before coming back out again. I don’t think that’s throwing in the towel. It is making sure plow crews are rested and safe to be back out on the streets plowing and sanding.
I do not understand the process the City uses when plowing. They simply plow a lane to keep the road open rather than work to plow to the curb from the start. I live on a side street off of Watertown St in Nonantum and the street is plowed by a hired contractor, not a City vehicle. The guy drives a standard pick-up truck with a plow. He drives down the middle of the street and the width of the plow is what we get. So then everything freezes and when the City trucks eventually show up, they can’t move the ice pack. Had they plowed to the curb from the start, this would not be a problem.
I think we had a rookie contractor for this snow storm. They usually push the snow back far enough so that at least one, sometimes two rows of storm drain holes are visible. Not even close this time.
Only the sidewalk on one side of the street get plowed because they are all paved. The plow avoided the sidewalks that were already shoveled (usually most of them) which is great. However, they did make a mess of the corners by moving chunks of snow into the street.
TheWholeTruth, we have the same issue on our street in West Newton. It’s also a street where people park for West Newton Square and the commuter rail, so after people start parking on it it’s very narrow and dangerous.
I was actually quite surprised how poorly the local streets were plowed. The bridge crossing the MassPike from Central Street to Auburn was terrible. I understand that the cold weather iced over much of the snow/sleet/freezing rain, but I am surprised by how bad it is…..but once I got out of Newton, the roads were fine.
The nature of the precipitation made things worse, from snow to sleet to rain to freezing rain. As for the uneven and haphazard plowing, which became all too evident today, I suspect the holiday timing was the reason (fewer people need to travel = fewer cars). Of course, for those of us who had to travel, it was awful. Cambridge – to my surprise – was even worse today.