Communities limiting snow plowing

[olmphoto2]

Any of you northern gals like me hearing of cities intending to limit plowing to save costs to strained budgets? I just read about the city just to the north of us (Janesville, WI--50,000+). They didn't plow most of the residential streets the other day and they had 5 inches!

I remember visiting a friend in Milwaukee fairly regularly one winter in the early 1970's. Milwaukee county (that is the whole city) made a rule that they wouldn't plow anything less than a certain depth. I think it was 6 inches. Man, oh, man they had snowfall after snowfall that never met that criteria. The roads, especially the side streets were a DISASTER... just one rutted mess that threatened car undercarriages majorly.!

[Gals, this was the friend who requested and ate the peanut butter stuffed baked green pepper! The guy had STRANGE tastes!!! He ate the petals from one of our friend's roses that she and hubby had received in her hospital room after the birth of their first child. Remember that line from "The Santa Clause"? Upon first flying (unexpectedly) Tim Allen's character says "Don't worry, I lived through the sixties!" LOL]

[Machele]

Re: Communities limiting snow plowing

They have been doing it (or not doing it), more and more over here. DH works third shift. I worry that he often must bull-doze his little car through drifts in the wee hours of the morning just to get to work.

[Kaci]

Re: Communities limiting snow plowing

You don't live far from me, I live about 20 miles from Monroe, Wisconsin

The plows sure keep our street clean, but the side streets are terrible. Gosh the plows
go up and down the street a couple of times.

Lucky us, snow tonight and tomorrow, then possible snow or flurries, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I guess the price of salt is so high from what the man said that is head of the Street
Department. Gosh why don't they use what Rockford does. This town is goofy.



K

[wishingstar]

Re: Communities limiting snow plowing

Not sure but I know there have been several deaths in my area in the past month due to slick roads ...they started brining them weeks ago:
*just a note from me LOL cant feed the beets to the deers so looks like the county got a cheap deal on those and less salt means less money .....sad times for sure!


GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- You're about to see a new weapon in the fight against snow and ice on some of the busiest roads in the county this winter.

As early as next week, the county Road Commission expects to roll out new equipment for making its own liquid brine -- a rust-colored witches brew that includes salt, beet juice and water -- that will be sprayed on some roads before crystallized salt ever hits the ground.

It's a new approach for the county -- a change aimed at making less road salt work better, partly by taking an extra step to make sure granular salt sticks to the road and stays effective in very cold temperatures.

Flint Journal extras A new tool for fighting snow and ice
• Brine is a salt water solution applied to roads before granular salt.

• The Genesee County Road Commission expects to take delivery on brine-making equipment in early December. About 30 percent of its trucks are equipped to apply the liquid with sprayers.

• Wetting the road with brine makes it easier for salt to stick and dissolve, releasing heat and melting ice and snow. Source: Iowa Department of Transportation, Genesee County Road Commission

Road Commission Manager-Director John Daly said the county needs to change its ways to help blunt rising granular salt prices, which have increased from $32.88 per ton last season to $41.42 this season -- an increase of more than 20 percent.

Last season, the county used 87,000 tons of road salt. Daly said the brine-making equipment has a one-time cost of $46,800.

"The advantage you have is you can put it down almost as a (prepatory) solution because it will inhibit the formation of ice at lower temperatures," he said. "We believe if we use this in a selective way it will cut down on the granular salt we have to put down."

Daly thinks the brine-making equipment could cut salt use by 5 percent or more and keep areas that ice-up easiest -- such as bridges and highway ramps -- safer.

Drivers already are anxious for improvements after coping with a few days of snow and slippery roads this month.

Neil A. Webster if Burton said Genesee County needs to step up its snow and ice removal program to keep is roads as safe as those in surrounding counties.

"Anything that could help, I'm in favor of," said Webster, 37, who commutes to his job in Oakland County. "As soon as I hit Genesee County, the roads are snow-covered and slick."

Daly said the new brine will be used when temperatures fall as low as 22 degrees. He said the salt water mixture will be used "anywhere we expect to have problems -- expressways, primary and state roads (and) section line local roads."

Bob Mykytiak, maintenance supervisor for the Macomb County Road Commission, said brine isn't just a passing fad.

Macomb County has used various brine receipes for more than five years, including mixtures with corn and beet byproducts.

If its applied before a snow hits, brine can melt light snows without adding any granular salt.

[wellsms]

Re: Communities limiting snow plowing

The newspapers around here are writing about the shortage of salt and no money to buy the more expensive salt. we live on a little rural road, and if it is windy, we can get really high drifts, I guess that is why we bought a 4 wheel drive truck, but if it is icy, even 4 wheel drive won't help much. Maybe our county thinks no one will have a job to go to on a snowy day anyway the way the economy is.

[smellis711]

Re: Communities limiting snow plowing

My town just decided that in order to save money they were going to have town employees do ALL of the plowing instead of doing it in conjunction with subcontracted plowers. That just spells trouble. What if they fall behind and an ambulance can't get to someone who is injured or sick in time? People just don't think things through!

[olmphoto2]

Re: Communities limiting snow plowing

Wellsms, when I moved from Madison, WI to Cinc'y for a year in the late 70's, I was shocked. At that time, it was supposedly common knowledge that police would not ticket you if you 'ran' a stop sign! Cinc'y (I guess because of being built on the seven hills and it's latitude) wasn't well known for drivers who were experienced in stopping on inclines---often, I guess, having more icy than snowy conditions. So...drivers were asked to slow down and proceed through intersections that had stop signs! As a Wisconsinite, I couldn't imagine the authorities actually suggesting this!

The next year I moved near Oxford, OH. I lived about 7 miles out of this small town (at least it was small then) with just country roads access from my rented farmhouse. One day with icy conditions, I was there before opening but no one of my (dedicated---not being sarcastic!) 15+ employees made it to the center before one hour after opening. They all lived IN Town. (Yes, I know as manager it was my responsibility most especially to be there on time.)

Kaci, I'll try private messaging you to reply as I've probably 'hijacked' this thread long enough. Oh, this is a hoot---I was going to apologize to the author of the thread and then realized it was ME! LOL