Today, Mayor Byron Brown released the
results of an internal review he called for on December 24, 2008 in order to
examine shortcomings in snow removal following historic snowfalls that took
place on Friday, December 19th and Sunday, December 21st.
The mayor called for the review based
on his displeasure with snow removal efforts and to address operations in the
wake of the snowfalls that caused concern and garnered complaints from city
residents.
Both storms produced record snowfalls for each day: 10.4″ on
Friday, December 19th and 11″ on Sunday, December 21st.
In addition, during the course of the Sunday, December 21st storm,
the city also experienced sustained winds in excess of 35 mph, with gusts early
in the day hitting approximately 70 mph and continuing through the day any
where between 35 and 50 mph, which contributed to widespread blizzard
conditions in the city and region.
“As I stated in late December, I was
not happy with the overall post-storm clean-up effort, particularly in our
residential neighborhood side streets,” said Mayor Brown. “I ordered key
personnel from the Department of Public Works, Parks & Streets, the city’s
Parking Violations Bureau, Citizen Services and members of my senior staff to
examine every aspect of our snow fighting capabilities and review the
strategies that were employed during and immediately following these
record-setting snowstorms. It was obvious that breakdowns occurred in key
aspects of our snow removal operations, particularly in the city’s older
residential neighborhoods and I met directly with the supervisors and personnel
who worked around the clock to keep the city functioning during what were very
trying circumstances. I knew at that time that city residents were frustrated
about side streets and sidewalks not being cleared in a timely manner and I
instructed these individuals to look at every opportunity we have to correct
whatever problems that occurred during these two storms, the post-storm
clean-up efforts and develop revisions to the city’s snow removal operations
for the current season and on into the future.”
Mayor Brown also noted that several new
storm-related assistance programs have been added over the past two years to
the city’s storm response strategy, including the deployment of AmeriCorps
personnel to provide shoveling assistance to senior citizens and handicapped
residents with few financial resources; the use of the Mayor’s Junior Impact
Team to clear NFTA bus shelters in the city’s commercial districts (or other
bus shelter locations that have been called in to the Mayor’s Call and
Resolution Center); and the regular assignment of the Mayor’s Impact Team to
twenty-five specific locations in the city that include sidewalks around
viaducts, bridge overpasses and other high traffic locations (in addition to
the 25 locations, the Impact Team is also sent to locations that have been called
in by city residents to the Mayor’s Call and Resolution Center).
Two areas of the City logged the most complaints: the Westside
of Buffalo (in the Niagara District and parts of the North and Delaware
Districts); and the neighborhood around the University at Buffalo South Campus.
Both areas are older sections of the City with extremely narrow streets and
two-sided weekend parking Type II.
The 10-point plan includes the following:
Implement GPS pilot program
Adjust alternate parking
regulations
Utilize personnel in other
departments for snow removal
Retain private contractors for
snow removal
Secure towing companies to
remove illegally parked cars
Improve residential plowing
strategies
Enhance training for new and
current employees
Create Snow Fighting Command
Center
Establish mandatory post-storm
reports
Implement corporate emergency
access system
The
mayor urges that any city resident or business owner who has a concern about
snow clearing operations anywhere in the city should call the Mayor’s Call
and Resolution Center at 311. All information received at the Center is
then transmitted to appropriate personnel for immediate action.