Snow days are synonymous with busy days for most public works departments.
In Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, crews worked 24 hours a day plowing and sanding streets during recent snowy weather.
“They were dragging by the end of the storm,” said Shoreline public works director Paul Haines about work crews. “But not one let up in terms of not working hard out there.”
The past week’s cold front resulted in a “quick burst” of telephone calls to Shoreline’s public works department, said Haines. Despite the snow, Shoreline city hall remained open.
“Every few years we expect this kind of storm,” said Haines.
The first night of the storm resulted in about 35 calls, mostly pertaining to accidents, trees that were down, and snow and ice problems. The second night, there were about 20 calls, mostly from residents who were worrying about “slick spots,” said Haines.
“It takes us about eight hours once a storm stops to get through the major arterials,” said Haines. “If the storm continues to stay away, then we can dive into neighborhoods for ice and snow.”
Crews use routing maps to target high volume locations first with five plows owned by the city, three of which can spread sand. If the snow’s coming down hard, crews don’t spread sand until ice starts forming. Otherwise, it “gets pushed away,” said Haines.
Once the snow starts compacting or it stops snowing, then crews concentrate on spreading sand, especially at intersections. Although crews ran out of sand, arrangements were made with the county to use some from their supply, said Haines.
There were dozens of cars that people left by the side of the road and public works staff received calls from people worried about where they left their cars. Vehicles were not towed, and residents were given time to move their vehicles.
City staff budget money each year in the event of snow storms.
“Even if we had another big storm this late in the year it doesn’t create a budget problem,” Haines said.
In the city of Lake Forest Park, crews started plowing and sanding late in the day when the storm hit.
“We had all our equipment geared up and ready to go prior to that,” said public works supervisor Scott Walker.
The city has five vehicles equipped with plows and three sanders. In Lake Forest Park, several businesses in Towne Center were closed all day Tuesday Nov. 28, while others planned to close early. City hall remained open.
“They were all bad,” said Walker about city roads. “Our object of course is to take care of the main arterials. It’s important for us to keep traffic flowing through the city.”
Money is incorporated into the budget for these types of situations, he said.
“The crew just absolutely did a fabulous job; they had a big job ahead of them,” said Walker.
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