Winter is coming. Here is Kansas City’s new plan for plowing your street
For years, Kansas City residents have said they were displeased with how long it takes to remove snow and ice from their streets.
They’ve pointed to how schools get closed in Kansas City but not other districts, and pointed to State Line Road, where it seems like the Kansas side gets cleared first.
In 2018, three days after nearly six inches of snow fell, residents said they were unhappy that their streets remained mired in ice and snow. City Hall defended its work, saying it faces challenges smaller cities don’t.
This year, city officials and snow removal crews are trying some new tactics:
Full curb to curb plowing on residential streets
Snow removal operations 24 hours a day
Adding 50 snow removal trucks and 100 additional drivers to snow operations
More aggressive use of salting before anticipated snow events
Deployment of “ice ban”, a more effective ice melting product that works at lower temperatures and is less corrosive and harmful to the environment
Improved department coordination and communication, adding a daily Snow Team meeting during storms to discuss operations.
“We made many important and urgent improvements to our snow removal operation last year, and we will continue to build upon that momentum and success this year,” City Manager Brian Platt said in a news release.
The Public Works Department coordinates snow removal across the city, working alongside the Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste and KC Water departments.
Primary streets are plowed first, followed by residential streets — about 6,000 miles of pavement, according to the city.
What’s new this year, by the numbers:
370 drivers (and counting) with cross-department collaboration from six departments
31 new trucks in the snow fleet
40,000 tons of salt across the city’s five salt domes and 10,000 in reserves for 2022
20,000 gallons of calcium chloride
1,200 tons of Ice Ban pre-mixed salt, reserved for super cold temperatures
New truck technology in snowplows to help drivers with routing and to provide real time locations for all snow removal vehicles
One additional salt dome is in the process of being delivered
“We are feeling confident heading into this snow season with the investments we’ve made in equipment, technology, materials and the additional staff available to plow snow,” Public Works director Michael Shaw said in a release. “We look forward to rolling out these improvements when the first snow hits and continuing to provide and improve these basic services in every neighborhood.”
Over the next few weeks, crews will fill salt domes, clean trucks and equipment, and install plows and spreaders on trucks.
Among areas the city has worked to improve on since last year: communication, staff training, plow routing, salting strategy, bike lanes, and trash and recycling impacts.
The parks department, Shaw said during a business session in City Hall Thursday, has specialized equipment to plow bike lanes. Those lanes will be plowed secondary after the main street has been cleared.
Training sessions begin Saturday for new drivers.
Shaw said last year they saw an early indication of a 5% increase in citizen satisfaction with snow plows.
In the past, one issue the department has had is the expectation level, Shaw said.
“We wanted to be sure to provide a 24/7 operation in residential neighborhoods when those are phase four and phase five responses so we can ensure we get people out of their house and back into the community,” Shaw said. “So that has proven to be beneficial.”
To learn more about the city’s snow plan, visit the city’s website at kcmo.gov/snow. You can view the snowplow activity here at kcmo.gov/snowmap.
