While temperatures have been unseasonably mild since the historic Halloween snowstorm and we hope for a winter with far less snow than last year, the Public Works Department is ready for whatever winter storms come our way.
New snow-fighting vehicles ready to be deployed.
New plow and sander vehicles have been delivered along with new snow blowers and a front end loader. Older vehicles have been re-furbished. Private plow contracts are in place. Sand and salt have been stockpiled.
And just in case this year’s snowfall piles up to the point of impeding auto and pedestrian traffic, several snow dump sites have been identified where snow removed from sidewalks and streets can be relocated. After several substantive storms with no melting to reduce snow banks, Public Works crews will move from plowing to snow removal operations to open up narrow streets, intersection sightlines, parking lots and sidewalks.
This snow has to go somewhere and since EPA regulations no longer allow us to dump this snow directly into our rivers, DPW has identified sites across the city that provide environmentally appropriate and adequate space for storing the snow should the need arise. These sites include:
Cawley Complex parking lot, Belvidere
Old drive in site, Pawtucketville
Middlesex Street lot by Spring Street
Hamilton Canal area lot off of Dutton Street
Hovey Field in Centralville
South Common in Back Central
It should be noted that these are “standby” sites to be used should we receive snow amounts that require removal of snow banks for public safety and access.
It is our hope that snowfalls will be short and few this year, keeping our new equipment unseasonably silent and eliminating our need to execute snow removal operations.
If you have any questions regarding snow operations, please contact Ralph Snow, Asst. City Manager/Public Works at (978) 674-4111.
