4th District Snow Clearance Report - Monday's update

Zones 1, 2, and 9

These zones have been inspected and these roads are determined as "passable", meaning the street is able to be driven through, but is not necessarily plowed. According to DoT, every single street in each of these zones has been visually inspected by the Fire Department, who can judge the street’s accessibility for both personal and emergency vehicles.

To further define “not necessarily plowed”, I was told that if there are ruts or tire tracks or even just solid packed down snow, as long as it’s less than six inches off of the road, it’s considered passable. I was also told that a number of streets where residents “haven’t seen a plow” were streets where they’ve come by in the middle of the night and left the snow lower, because they are not trying to get down to asphalt in most places.
Currently working Northern Parkway, trying to clear it back to full operation, are twelve bobcats, five dump trucks, four loaders, and four pick-up trucks.

Zone 5

This zone was almost clear this morning; they do have four bobcats and two 5-ton dump trucks still finishing the area.

Zone 6

This is where most of our problems remain – the densest neighborhoods with the most cars on the tightest streets. Private contractors are working their way through the zone with three 1-ton pick-up trucks with plows, two backhoe/loaders, and a tractor w/ a commercial blower. As soon as the bobcats are done in zone 5 or along Northern Parkway, I am trying to get them detailed to assist in Zone 6.

As I've said before, these are the City’s official assessments, not mine personally. If your street has been deemed "passable" and you disagree with that assessment:

a) please call 311
b) state your concern to them
c) write down the tracking number they give you
d) email me at bill.henry@baltimorecity.gov with your address and the tracking number

All that being said, please try to be reasonable when you’re making your own assessments. Do not use your ordinary standards for post-snowstorm clearance – try to think more in terms of post-hurricane or some other sort of natural disaster. I know that this has been tough on all of us, but the men and women who are working twelve-hour shifts in the snow room and on the streets, trying to get us back to a semblance of normalcy, they deserve our thanks and praise, not our anger and frustration.
Please share this with your neighbors. Thanks!

P.S. Hold down the Ctrl button and click on the map to see it fullsize…