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Official Site of the Government of Stevens Point, Wisconsin
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City of Stevens Point Snow Removal
January 19, 2010
With the arrival of yet another winter season, we
in city government are again charged with the necessary but unpredictable task of snow and ice control: necessary
for the obvious reasons of public safety and preservation of life and property. I have had a chance to read some
of the open letters that arose after the last few snow falls and wanted to take some time to explain procedures
and protocols for how we tackle this unique task. It is however, unpredictable because Mother Nature won't allow
us to schedule the timing, type, severity, or duration of her storms; which really does determine how each of the
events will be handled. Our goal is to make sure that we follow through on our duty to the best of our ability,
and do the best for the most people; knowing not everyone will be happy.
After every storm, we receive calls demanding that
we drive faster to throw snow over the sidewalk, slower to just tuck it to the side, turn the blade to clear my
drive, push the snow down to my neighbor (really), salt more, salt less, sand more, sand less, etc., etc. If we
custom plowed to each property owner's requests, we'd need triple or quadruple the personnel and machinery to do
the job in the same time frame. That goal although wonderful is simply not fiscally possible given where we all
would like the tax rate to stay.
Winter weather is a fact of life here in the North.
We are not out to get anyone. We must, to ensure our welfare and possessions, remove snow, ice, and slush from
our roadways.
It logically must land:
a. At the edge of the road, narrowing traveling
lanes.
b. On the boulevard, if one exists, filling driveways and any other available opening.
c. On the sidewalk, exacerbating slippery conditions for pedestrians and increasing the workload of individual
property owners- ourselves included.
d. In our yards after flying over the curb, boulevard, and sidewalks.
Our goal is the efficient and timely clearing of
your roads. The approach we take varies depending on the type of snow as stated before: what time of day/night
it falls, the rate at which it falls, and how long it keeps falling. Major roads have the priority: which are our
A and B plow routes, with C routes coming after those, normally our side streets. Our plow routes are available
here. Plow
Route Map (pdf)
Salt
Route Map (pdf)
We make the best plan we can, based on available
weather predictions. That plan is created through a conversation had between myself, as the Mayor, Dennis Laidlaw
Superintendent of Streets and Joel Lemke, Director of Public Works. We have added new Web sites for weather monitoring
as well as predictions and forecasts. We have also changed, as you no doubt had noticed, the way we physically
plow: using one truck now with salt and a wing as opposed to three trucks to do the same as we had a few years
ago. This process helps us clear the entire City hours faster than before. Also, with the help of Third District
Alderperson Michael O'Meara, we have access to the DOT forecasting system allowing us information to better attack
the snow events.
We do the best job we can for you with the staffing
and equipment we as a city have decided we can afford. Those employees, some 35 people, keep our Airport cleared,
our city sidewalks and parking lots safe, our city fleet repaired and maintained, our garbage and recycling picked,
our potholes and cracks filled and numerous other tasks. We're not perfect, but we do a very good job given the
resources at our disposal. I'm proud to be able to say I lead this team of excellent employees, and I am thrilled
to serve the great majority of our citizenry who recognize, respect, and appreciate our efforts. Lastly, please
remember a fact of life that we all must accept given we live in Wisconsin is that it snows; and the process we
take to remove that snow is a priority which is one of, if not given the time of year, the most important task
we accomplish for you.
f you have any questions or concerns please give
my office a call at 346-1570 or E-mail me.
Sincerely,
Andrew J. Halverson, Mayor of Stevens Point
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