Cloudy / 54° F
City: Removing snow from streets slow process [UPDATED]
Published 11:04am Friday, February 15, 2013 Updated 11:05am Friday, February 15, 2013Main roads around Fergus Falls were cleared promptly with the recent snow storm, but many large piles of snow remain around town, causing sight line hazards for drivers and pedestrians. City public works crews will be working Friday night into Saturday morning on snow removal, and throughout next week.
“Our priority is to clear downtown, then around schools and major emergency routes,” said Anne Martens, Public Works Director. “Last night we were working on Court and Mill streets. Sometimes we combine work on streets like Union with clearing around schools like Adams.”
Martens recommends that people heed travel advisories to cut down on the amount of vehicles that get stuck in snowy areas.
“Lots of people were stuck when they shouldn’t have been driving,” said Martens.
Snow removal takes time and patience, especially after a heavy storm.
“Work has to be done midnight to 8 a.m. when there is less traffic,” said Steve Hames, Public Works Operations Manager. “Downtown is still not finished — crews worked for eight hours on McKinley and Spruce last night.”
While downtown still needs snow removal, schools are an important priority.
“We’ve already cleared around schools once, and will be back out again,” said Hames.
Hames has recommendations for residents removing snow on their property.
“Don’t pile snow on city rights of way,” said Hames. “If visibility is a problem, hire a private hauler to take snow away.”
Hames says he gets many calls this time of year about snow removal. He recommends people call their landscaping or yard care professional, or Google snow removal Fergus Falls on the Internet for companies to assist in clearing snow.
