Menu

With Warmer Temps, Public Works to Redouble Efforts to Clear City of Snow and Ice

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release:

January 9, 2018

For more information, contact:

Robert Goulding, DPW Public Information Manager

802-540-0846

With Warmer Temps, Public Works to Redouble Efforts to Clear City of Snow and Ice

All roads, sidewalks and bike lanes to be plowed and scraped for improved accessibility

Burlington, VT – At the Department of Public Works, we prioritize public safety and accessibility - especially during the challenging winter months. To properly maintain 130 miles of sidewalks, 95 miles of roads and 8 miles of bicycle lanes, our Street Maintenance team has continued to deploy all available winter resources - often around the clock. DPW’s fleet consists of 10 plow trucks and 11 sidewalk tractors; it orders up to 3,500 tons of road salt per year; it has 18 full time employees, 2 seasonal employees and continues drawing in help from other DPW units and other city departments.

Recently, DPW has received numerous inquiries from residents and stakeholders about our maintenance plan for this week with a forecast calling for up to four days of at or above freezing temperatures. “The two parking bans this winter were critical in helping our crews maintain the safest conditions possible in near-record cold,” said Chapin Spencer, Director of Public Works, “The frigid conditions of the last two weeks have prevented complete snow removal from our roads, but with warmer temperatures this week, we will be redoubling efforts to plow and scrape all surfaces, push any remaining snow to the curb and clear catch basins to protect that critical infrastructure.”

 The same challenges also prevented efficient, complete snow removal and scraping of bike lanes, which is a Departmental priority to clear this week. The warmer conditions will also allow our crews to more effectively use road salt when needed - which is less effective when surface temperatures are too low.

 The Department makes the following resources available to notify the public or aid the public in making non-emergency reports:

  • Our parking ban lights are the official notification for parking bans and are widely placed around the city
  • We maintain an up to date 802-658-SNOW line when we do declare a parking ban
  • Our customer service team is available from 7:00AM-4:30PM, Monday to Friday, at 802-863-9094 to report maintenance concerns, including road, sidewalk or bike lane issues.
  • We maintain a Facebook page (facebook.com/btvdpw) and Twitter feed (@btvdpw) which will give regular updates on bans and other notifications
  • We also encourage the use of SeeClickFix (www.seeclickfix.com) to report non-emergency maintenance issues

For more information on our Snow-fighting operations, please see our Snow and Ice Control Plan here, https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/DPW/Snowfighting-Program.

Press Release Date: 
01/09/2018
Attached Press Release: 
City Department: 
Public Works Department