With snow still on the ground and another winter storm in the forecast, Worcester’s longstanding problems with snow removal are once again the focus of public scrutiny.
At a City Council meeting Tuesday night, councilors said they keep hearing from constituents that the city doesn’t clear streets and sidewalks quickly enough after storms. That’s despite years of efforts by the city to improve snow-clearing operations, including purchasing new equipment and increasing the snow removal budget.
Councilor Morris Bergman said Worcester hasn’t endured a major snow storm yet this winter. But he’s concerned about what will happen once it does.
“If we’re not doing well with 2 and 3 inches, I can’t imagine what we’re gonna do with a foot-plus,” Bergman said. “I just can’t justify to constituents how we’re spending money for the snowplow operators, the inspectors, and the supervisors, and we still can’t get it right.”
Residents have complained for years that many streets and sidewalks often remain impassable for days following snowstorms. That has resulted in cars getting stuck and people slipping and falling.
During the meeting Tuesday, Robert Harden told councilors that his street is often hard to navigate because plow trucks don’t pass over it enough during and after storms.
“A couple storms ago, I posted a video online of the mail truck trying to get up the street and instead drifting off to the side,” Harden said, noting that he frequently calls the city to complain about the poor road conditions. “I’m paying property taxes. I should not have to come here again or call again to have my street cleared.”
In recent years, the city has tried to improve snow clearing operations by adding over $1 million to its snow removal budget and increasing stipends and bonuses to attract more snowplow contractors. But City Manager Eric Batista acknowledged that there continue to be shortcomings because many contractors are no longer in the snowplowing business.
“We’re working with our labor partners to incentivize or find ways that we can get our staff to be able to take on these hours and operate these equipment,” Batista said. “We’re doing everything we can.”
Batista added that his public works team is planning to introduce a new salt brine system to pretreat roads before precipitation events. The system may be ready for the snowstorm forecasted to hit Massachusetts this weekend, he said.
City Councilor Tony Economou noted that he attended a recent training where public works staff learned how to use the new brining system, which he called “state of the art.” He believes the system will help reduce snow accumulation on roads.
“I can tell you the commitment from the staff is there,” Economou said. “In the next week or two, maybe three weeks, we’re going to see some tremendous impacts here in the city.”
