Snow Removal

I keep reading feel-good human interest stories in The Sun but don't see any comment on the disgraceful lack of snow removal in Baltimore City. I was completely locked into my Roland Park neighborhood and was lucky enough to hoof it to Guilford, where private snow removal enabled a colleague to get out and drive me to work. When I arrived, I learned from coworkers that their drive was fine until they hit city limits, after which the streets were disasterous. In three days, I have yet to see a plow.

Winter certainly isn't over, and these parts have seen some pretty impressive winter storms in March, and on occasion in April, even as the National Weather Service forecast indicates it'll be at least March before low temperatures are solidly below freezing — if a cold snap ever materializes. At the risk of tempting fate, it looks like the money set aside for snow removal by Harford County and its three municipalities will not all be needed. Even if there is a big snow storm before the end of the season, the cost of dealing with the effects of winter weather on local roadways isn't likely to be comparable to what has been the case in the previous few winters Such is the weather in these parts.

Opinions on how good a job state and local officials did in clearing this week's snowstorms varied widely, with some praising the efforts and others calling them nearly criminal. Here's a sampling of reader reactions from The Sun editorial board's blog. Read more and share your thoughts at baltimoresun.com/secondopinion. In this event, I cannot fault any local or state government for any failure for snow removal. We are not equipped with the proper machinery for this type of event.

The Baltimore Sun As state and local highway crews braced for the first storm of the new year, they took comfort in the fact that their budgets have plenty of money to handle it — and more. Mild weather has kept the region's plows idle, salt sheds virtually untouched and ledgers in the black, public works officials say. If the trend continues, leftover money would be used to offset other government expenses or pay for road projects. Crews began the waiting game Friday afternoon, as snow and sleet developed from southwest to northeast and temperatures slipped below freezing.

I read and hear all the stories about snow removal in the city and how they think Baltimore County does a much better job of clearing the streets. How about the sidewalks for pedestrians? If you walk, you're out of luck. Even if you are a student trying to walk to the school in our neighborhood! The county isn't all that great! You won't believe what they did to us! This past Saturday, construction equipment started working in our neighborhood to push the snow out of the street onto the sidewalks.

As a long-time Baltimore City resident, I have continually vowed to write this letter to the editor in reference to the performance of snow removal services by our city government. First and foremost, I must commend the effort of the city to keep everyone as accessible as possible. I know this is a difficult task for everyone involved. However, it appears from an outsider's perspective that the process that transpires year after year has no plan or project management in place. As a northeast city resident who lives six blocks from the Baltimore County line, it amazes me year after year the difference between the job performances of the city compared to the county.

Baltimore city dropped the ball for its citizens. If this is any indication of disaster preparedness, our city is done for. Please find out who is responsible for the abysmall snow removal in Baltimore City because that someone needs a new job. Kelley Geiger, Baltimore Send your comments to talkback@baltimoresun.com.

I live in the city (zip code 21206). My neighborhood is completely blocked in with no sign of help. Many of my neighbors and myself are unable to get to work. Our roads have not been plowed. We have many elderly residents that family members can't get to because of the roads. The county roads look great compared to the city. What's going on?!? I am originally from Boston and have seen my fair share of storms. The mayor needs to contact them because they know how to plan and execute snow removal.

I live in Baltimore County, and the snow removal has been pretty good, but when I took my mother back to her house Tuesday, the snow removal at the city line was ridiculous. On Belair Road at Northern Parkway the road went from two lanes in the county to one lane in the city. My mother's block, the 4500 block of Parkwood Avenue, had yet to be plowed, and the people actually shoveled the street,, as in many neighborhoods, which allowed me to get to her house and out again. The area she lives in is a valley so any way out is up a hill.

Regarding the "Be Realistic About Snow Removal" editorial (Feb. 11), I couldn't agree more. I grew up in Michigan, and getting hit by back to back storms of this size would present a problem even up there. Granted, it would have been handled better, but they are equipped for it, and the people know what it takes to get through it. This is the snowiest winter on record in Maryland, and the state is not equipped to handle snow of this magnitude, nor should it be. It would be a huge waste of money to purchase and maintain equipment that could handle this when this kind of winter comes around only once in a lifetime.

A Glen Burnie plowing contractor is suing the city for $5.9 million, alleging it has not been paid for snow removal services during the snowstorms of February 2010. "When there was snow up to our necks, they were glad to make a deal," said attorney Andrew D. Freeman, who is representing the Delmarva Group. "The city now regrets the deal it made" and has not paid the bill, he said. Delmarva filed suit Wednesday in city Circuit Court. The suit alleges Delmarva submitted a bid of $350 per hour per piece of equipment, which the city accepted.

When the mayor summons her best and brightest transportation officials, it isn't for an update on snow removal in the neighborhoods, to discuss technology and workflows that would enable more efficient service delivery, or even to check the status of the backlog of projects citywide. Rather, it's to find out if her $8 million race track is on schedule for Labor Day. Baltimore is spending the bulk of its transportation stimulus funds on Pratt and Light streets — not to make them more attractive gateways to the Inner Harbor but to create a race course so Baltimore Racing Development can hold an IndyCar race.

Nearly a week after the season's first major winter snowstorm, large patches of ice and snow still cover streets in some Northeast Baltimore neighborhoods, and residents say they are waiting for trash and recycling pickups. That's a common problem in Hamilton Hills, resident Jere Danaher said Tuesday. Last year, following the February blizzards, was the first time in 30 years that he remembers city crews being sent to clear neighborhood streets. This year, a plowing crew cleared some roads after residents complained to the area's city councilman, Robert Curran.

Baltimore's poor snow removal efforts ( "Once again, the county beats the city on snow removal," Jan. 30) are just the tip of the iceberg and a reflection of city leadership. The only conclusion one can reasonably make is that there is little work ethnic, no measurement and assessment of performance and pervasive bad attitudes by city employees. This, when combined with lack of management oversight and leadership at the top to incentivize to hold people accountable, makes for bad snow removal and deterioration of overall services.

As a long-time Baltimore City resident, I have continually vowed to write this letter to the editor in reference to the performance of snow removal services by our city government. First and foremost, I must commend the effort of the city to keep everyone as accessible as possible. I know this is a difficult task for everyone involved. However, it appears from an outsider's perspective that the process that transpires year after year has no plan or project management in place. As a northeast city resident who lives six blocks from the Baltimore County line, it amazes me year after year the difference between the job performances of the city compared to the county.

The "conga line" of snow-removal vehicles slowly formed a procession at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Thursday — 22 pieces of equipment that included humongous snowplows, funny-looking blower trucks with oversize fans and ordinary pickups. Slowly they rolled across runways in a BWI version of the old Soviet May Day parades in Moscow — flexing the airport's anti-snow weaponry as if trying to scare off the alien forces of winter. It was the annual "snow parade" at BWI, and the prevailing message was that airport employees are ready for anything the season can throw at them — even an unlikely repetition of last winter's one-two-three punch.

Once again, we see evidence of the wide disparity between what American people expect their government to do for them and what they're prepared to pay for it. It is political suicide for a politician to even suggest a tax increase, and yet we all end up paying more in the long run because we refuse to pay for things up front. It's not the supposed snow plow masters in Boston that we really need to take a look at for how to manage a happy and healthy society ("Baltimore needs to get some advice on snow removal," Readers respond, Feb. 9)

Even before the latest snow started to fall, people around the region were getting frustrated at the efforts of local governments to clear the streets -- from Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller grousing about slip-sliding down Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis to Baltimoreans complaining that even main drags like Harford Road were still socked in. With the new storm dumping as much as 20 more inches on the ground, the anger is only going to...

The bills are in for snow removal and related services during the record February snowstorms, and Baltimore has some whoppers to pay. Most of the $36 million tab goes to what one might expect — overtime and extra help from contractors — but here's one we didn't see coming: more than $230,000 in catering costs. That may represent a small part of the overall bill, but for those prices, one usually gets a posh wedding reception with crabcakes, champagne and a Charm City cake.

Baltimore paid contractors and other businesses more than $21 million for emergency snow removal and other services during the record storms that hit the Baltimore area in February. Those invoices represent more than half of the approximately $36 million Baltimore spent on overtime and emergency response during the storms. The city's annual snow budget is about a quarter of that amount, according to a city spokesman. "This was the worst two-day storm in our history," Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake said after a Wednesday meeting of the Board of Estimates.