Days after New Year, the northeast was hit with a massive winter storm. Inches of snow piled up over parked vehicles, covered sidewalks and driveways. Presumably, many people thought that going out early during the storm’s beginning would help the clean up process. However, after coming out of their warm homes every 30 minutes or so to shovel the accumulation, the citizens of Malden were angered. Plow trucks, in their attempt to clean up the streets, were pushing snow into parking lots and covering openings of walkways.
So, at the recent city council meeting, the director of the Department of Public Works Robert Knox came and spoke about the recent snow storm and the clean up process. In addition, the director of the Malden Board of Health, Christopher Webb also spoke to the council about the current ordinance passed. Which was instead of a fine for not cleaning up snow in front of your property, people would first get a written citation. Before speaking Councillor Murphy noted that the council “put in a new ordinance in that gave people a warning instead of a first fine”.
Robert Knox statement on how wet whether has an effect on filling the pothole:
“There are a couple of challenges with pothole filling. The day we had the 60 degree morning and the drop to a 20 degree night that weekend. So, definitely with the freeze and the thaw the potholes do pop this time of year...Another challenge is getting hot mix, there is only one plant that's been around in town. What we do at the Malden DPW is when they’re open I have guys wait in line to get mix. There is only one place around to get hot mix, which is Saugus. And that changes sometimes it's Peabody, sometimes milton...as you can expect every city in the state right now is racing to get asphalt right know...We all know the areas with huge hot spots Maplewood streets and Mount Vernon street, and we see the street request. There is a challenge in getting mix and having the asphalt dry enough to put something in there that is going to stay…”
Robert Knox on the Snow Removal Process
Every storm is different on depending on what the forecast is. We take into effect a lot of different things in making a snow plan sometimes. Like this big storm we started off with very light salting and [got] right into a plowing and everytime it is different, lets say its’ going to be a couple of inches of snow where we can handle it with DPW salt...We salt the main roads, around the schools… something like the bigger operation like the 18 inches we have each truck we assign 12 to 18 streets on a route for plowing. My best suggestion for people to be patient...Obviously our main focus in on the main roads and the hills to get emergency apperatises around the city.
Tips On What Residents Can Do to Help the DPW
- Getting the vehicles off the road.
- You have a driveway, please use it.
- Wait till the snow plows clean up the snow to clean driveways and sidewalks.
Christopher Webb on Warnings and Fines
“...Right now the ordinance requires a warning. So, every person that is referred to as a complaint...You will see they were all given a written warning. If it is in Maplewood Square those piles were large and there were many that were large. It really comes to the turning of the truck, the size of the truck being used in that area, and it isn’t intentional because that how the traffic pattern of the route goes. We are at the conasing fact that this is a commuting city: everybody is trying to get to the bus stop, the uber stand, or the T station or [to] school. What we try to do is give people a warning, we give pamphlets we have used in past years. We didn’t use them so much in our last storm because our window was really small because we had a small window for the storm. So, we use door hangers with various vocations [a person] might have...The corners and cut throughs to handicap ramps, fire hydrants. A lot of people shovel their sidewalk and corner lot but they won’t breakthrough that snow bank at the corner so people can cross at that natural crosswalk, that's another huge challenge...People will get a note and if they don’t resolve it in the time that the ordinance allows it, which right now is 24 hours they would get a fine.”
