# How would your city have handled this storm?



## snowplower1 (Jan 15, 2014)

This week we had a crazy storm. 7th most snow Rochester has ever seen in a day. Started around 430am and by about 4pm it slowed down after dropping about 22 inches of snow. That's a heck of a lot of snow in 12 hours. 

the contractors and municipalities did a heck of a job. By 7pm roads were back to blacktop, most lots were cleared by 7am. That much snow is almost impossible to keep up with and there were issues but mostly due to people having gone out driving when they should not have. Our major highways closed and people were stuck on it for hours. I was reading this post and I felt he was totally off. Most cities would have been shut down for days yet hours after it stopped we were dug out. So how do you think you as a contractor would have done and how would your city do? 

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2016/02/16/dick-moss-five-hour-rochester-commute-snowstorm/80462926/


----------



## iceyman (Mar 1, 2007)

Our town is pretty good. Next town over is terrible. You can see the line drawn in the snow in bigger storms


----------



## snowplower1 (Jan 15, 2014)

I know how that is. I have to avoid one of our major roads for a good 5 miles from my house until you get into the next town where almost always it is in blacktop


----------



## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

We had 20-21" last year during the Superbowl, and we actually did pretty good. I plow in Chicago, and granted, the side streets were still pretty rough because they're the last to get plowed by the City, but all in all, I think they did great considering it was such a large snow fall. Our company did very well (efficiency-wise) as well I think.


----------



## snowplower1 (Jan 15, 2014)

I was surprised our side streets were even cleared up fast. We did all right. We had everything plowed out by morning and I would have liked it too have been done faster but I lost about an hour because an o-ring went bad on my plow and I had to run home and grab another truck. 
I would have wanted salting to get done earlier but my dad had to do it and he's never done the whole route and barely knows how to salt since I am the only one to ever use it and that delayed us


----------



## B-2 Lawncare (Feb 11, 2012)

Started laughing almost shot the coffee out of my nose, thinking about how my city would handle a storm like that. They wait tell two or three days later when the streets are packed to ice and then they get the road grader out, window in to the center of road and blow it in to trucks. Most residential streets don't even get plowed. I guess that's why ever one drives four wheel drive trucks.


----------



## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Our city's protocol... no matter if it snows 3" or 13", wait until 5am, bury everyone in, plow main streets over and over (even if they're down to black top), maybe hit the side streets 2 or 3 days later.


----------



## Derek'sDumpstersInc (Jul 13, 2014)

If it happened a month ago here in KC, most of the muni's would still be trying to find the keys to their trucks, while MoDOT would have all the interstates cleared several times over by now. Soooooooo, IF you could make it to the interstate, you MIGHT be able to get to where you were going, but ONLY if you could avoid being hit by all the idiots driving around in beater cars with bald tires trying to get to there burger flipping job where they aren't needed because no one can get into the parking lot because it hasn't been plowed yet. LOL


----------



## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

derekslawncare;2121207 said:


> If it happened a month ago here in KC, most of the muni's would still be trying to find the keys to their trucks, while MoDOT would have all the interstates cleared several times over by now. Soooooooo, IF you could make it to the interstate, you MIGHT be able to get to where you were going, but ONLY if you could avoid being hit by all the idiots driving around in beater cars with bald tires trying to get to there burger flipping job where they aren't needed because no one can get into the parking lot because it hasn't been plowed yet. LOL


Yup, that's KC :laughing:


----------



## mwalsh9152 (Dec 30, 2008)

Thankfully, the last really big storms in MA they have imposed driving bans, its really made it much easier to clean up the snow. Typically they will concentrate on the main roads, and then clean up the smaller side roads occasionally. I live on a cul de sac, and during 30" events, I would come home to find 12-15" of snow on the road. Usually they will knock everyone off within 6-8 hours of the storms end. But cleanup will go on for days depending on how much snow was already on the ground. 

Being that its a private way, and that I dont have any option for stacking on my property, I push it out into the road and then stack it on the side of the circle next to my house, and then clean up the piss poor job they do clearing the rest of it. Of course EVERY time I go to clear my own driveway during one of these events is when they finally decide to clear my road.


----------



## IPLOWSNO (Oct 11, 2008)

No big deal in Syracuse NY


----------



## UltraLwn&Lndscp (Oct 20, 2013)

The only issue with this storm was it snowed 3-4 inches an hour from 6-10am. Prime rush hour. Add in morons that can not drive in summer, let alone with those snow rates, you have a problem. 

I had three commercial properties close up, which was a bonus. When that happened we felt pretty caught up and smooth sailing. I tried to help a few stuck folks, only to realize they had 25% tread life. I left them for the wrecker and stopped helping anyone. 

The municipalities did great. It is impossible to complete their job when morons without proper "shoes" are getting stuck in intersections, the middle of the road, halfway out of their driveway, etc. We had blacktop on my side of town by 2pm on the main roads, That is hard to find anywhere, even Syracuse.  Boom.


----------



## snowplower1 (Jan 15, 2014)

I kept telling any customer that was calling that nobody should be out let alone sites be open. One of our banks closed up by 2 but the other states open. One store never even opened. It's much better when sites close and even better if roads close. My travel times are usually 5-10 in a snow event between most sites. It was taking 30 minutes if not more. My dad was stuck on the bay bridge for 2hours that hurt us pretty bad


----------



## Derek'sDumpstersInc (Jul 13, 2014)

Yeah, that's what kills it here in KC also. People that haven't got the driving ability nor the vehicle that get stuck and clog everything up. What usually takes 10-15 min. between accounts now takes 1-2 hrs.


----------



## snowplower1 (Jan 15, 2014)

Do you guys usually stop to help people or not? We honestly do not get a lot of people stuck in the road but this storm there was a ton. I had people trying to get me to stop but honestly my customers were pushing me way too hard for me to stop even 5 minutes


----------



## Derek'sDumpstersInc (Jul 13, 2014)

ONLY two types of people I help when I'm out plowing is fellow plow drivers and 18 wheelers. I used to stop and help regular folks, but I got sick and tired of being the one that had to lay in the snow to hook up the rope because they were clueless as to what to hook it too. Then, after I spend 15-20 mins getting them out, I'd watch them drive 1/4 mile before getting stuck again because they either were in a vehicle not suited for the road conditions (sports car, fwd compact, or bald tires) or just stupid and didn't know how to drive (stopping for red lights when no traffic, then can't get going again, or my personal favorite - riding brakes down hill and sliding into ditch or no momentum to get up other side). I just got sick of it all. Semis, I just put the plow against their trailers bumper and go.


----------



## JMHConstruction (Aug 22, 2011)

I have a tow rope, but it's usually only for my guys who get stuck. For some reason no matter what they drive I always have someone get stuck somewhere. I will help a random person, but only if I'm not running to another job, or have a break while it's snowing again. After our KC storm a few years back when everywhere closed, and every news channel was telling people to stay off the roads, but I still was stuck behind all these damn people who thought they could drive in 2' of snow, I gave up on helping the public. I can't fix stupid, nor do I want to anymore.


----------



## truckitup (Aug 21, 2011)

I had many phone calls between 8-11 am when it was snowing 3+ inches an hour wondering were i was. As I told them I am on my second run and having trouble with stuck cars in the road. They did not care. 

I talked to many Snow Plow contractors and they had the same problem, Our customers just did not understand why there was not blacktop at a snow fall rate of 3+ inches an hour. 

Unless you had 10 driveways or only one parking lot to worry about you were a bad service company. In 25 years I have never herd so many people complain in my life. 

When the town of Webster cam to the board meeting to explain, I guess people called him and were not very nice. 25" out here in twelve hours and they want blacktop during a storm.


To all the snow plow contractors out in Rochester that day with me in the trenches WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------

