Lockport NY

Well the endless snow fall has finally given it a rest. The LFD is asking us to pitch in to clear hydrants (its the water authority's responsibility). The LPD is reminding us to think of our neighbors by clearing our sidewalks. And a reminder from last year on how the city goes about plowing the streets.

My block was pretty good on both the sidewalk and streets. I heard the plows going by at night more times than I pry would have liked and I had no problem walking around the neighborhood several different times except for one property where the structures were removed last year. Most of my neighbors are good at helping each other out by alternately snow blowing or shoveling past their own property line. My thanks to those who I don't get to do so personally.

Enjoy the snow while its here. It'll be gone in a few months ;)

The Buffalo News has an article today about a postal worked being reprimanded for not taking shortcuts across snow covered lawns. I never realized there was a policy to take the most direct route between houses. I always recall my grandparents complaining about the postal carriers walking on their lawn.

From the news article:

A postal carrier in Depew has been threatened with suspension because he failed to walk across snow-covered lawns while delivering mail one day last month, his union said. The carrier, whom the union did not name, was issued a “warning letter” Tuesday, telling him he could be suspended from duty if he continues using sidewalks rather than walking across lawns. Many local carriers have had disputes this winter with supervisors who insist they walk across lawns, even on days when snowdrifts are deep, according to officials of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

I have noticed lately that my mail carrier has been arriving a lot later (4-5pm) than before (11am-12pm). I was guessing double shifting due to a vacation or something similar but it has been going on for a while. I wonder if general cutbacks, etc are going on increasing overall delivery loads for each carrier?

McLennan said postal carriers walk across lawns to save time when weather permits, but he said “it makes no sense” in heavy snowfall. “Our carriers are not against the idea of crossing the lawns in good weather,” McLennan said. The Postal Service, which lost $2.8 billion last year, has been searching for ways to increase efficiency.

Well the LUSJ beat me to it ;). With the snow removal complaints pouring in over at the LUSJ after the late school closing on Wed. I wrote Mayor Tucker an e-mail about it and he replied to me late yesterday. Similar information was contained. I'll summarize both the article and the e-mail here as a City of Lockport snow removal FAQ.

1. City streets are plowed in this order: main streets - around schools - streets on hills, next are secondary streets and finally are the many side streets. If snow is falling continuously side streets are put off to hit the first priorities over again.
2. Crews of 20 to 25 men in five plow-wing vehicles and a dozen smaller trucks do the work. This is about half of the crew that used to be used a long time ago. I notice the Jeeps plowing around the grade school near me often.
3. City plows do not contract the road surface directly. Small 1/2" blades elevate the plows off the street to avoid man hole covers that are located on the street. A legacy-issue that is not easily resolved. Tighter streets, curbs etc also come into play for city snow clearing.
4. Salt is usually reserved for primary streets, intersections, bridges and hills. Sand may be used on secondary streets and most side streets are not treated (although their intersections are). The salt can take its toll on the city's older sewer system.
5. It takes around 6 hours to hit every street when no vehicles are on the road. This is claimed to be a few hours shorter than it used to take with the larger crews in the past.
6. There is an extra winter midnight weekday crew for routine street cleaning. On the weekends the police dept can decide if a streets supervisor needs to call in an overtime crew. Once the supervisor is alerted a crew can usually be put together in about an hour.
   

A bigger issue I think is sidewalk clearing in the AM when the children are walking to school. I know I have a few neighbors that put in the extra effort to walk their snow blower farther than their property. I personally shovel and salt before heading off to work in the AM.

As I've said over at LUSJ forums, the city speed limit is 30 mph. Travelling the speed limit I have no problems coming to a stop at intersections etc. There are no 45 or 55 mph arterials in the city were one needs to be concerned for drivers thinking they should still be driving at the higher speeds. Most people seem to drive way slower than needed as it is. The side streeets on hills though can be a little tricky the day of the snow though. Usually within 24 hours only the side streets are not showing pavement.

Slow news weekend so I'll bring up the LUSJ article on winter guidelines for pets.


No major revelations there except maybe:

Dog owners should never let dogs off their leashes on snow or ice, because dogs
can easily lose their scents and get lost during a snowstorm. They may panic and
run away, Chille said.

Prior to winter I did some Internet searching on this topic and came away with our new dog needed booties because walking her in the snow was similar to me walking barefoot in the snow next to her. Well 3 out of the 4 booties shown above were MIA within one block from the house on the first snow walk. We have since reverted back to no booties, but instead take much shorter walks than those in the warmer months. Looking back over my life, I can not recall one dog amongst family or friends that used booties. Guess I was suckered into being over protective? ;)

Post submitted by LockportMom

It appears that we are again going to have issues with salting the roads in the City of Lockport again. I understand many of the side streets are always the last to be done, but I was very disappointed in the road conditions surrounding the Lockport High School this morning. There is ice underneath that fine layer of snow, and it very noticeable at the stop signs with skid marks to the sides of the roads. Granted, we all need to be a little more careful wtih winter weather upon us, but it very disheartening when I take a left off of Lincoln to head back into the town due to all the traffic congestion around the school, and the minute I cross over to the Town Of Lockport, the streets are clear and salted.

This concerns me even more so because of all the student drivers heading over to the school. Then I headed over to North Park and road conditions were just as bad. Schools and roads surrounding them should be of top priority as the city has an abundance of walkers, and not an abundance of sidewalks. The city should be more proactive to conditions rather than reactive. Our road conditions here in the City are usually some of the worst.

I did not see a single truck out taking care of the roads, yet yesterday morning I saw four taking care of picking up leaves on the streets. What is the protocol of the city when it comes to salting the roads? Is this going to be a repeat of last year that when you head into the city from the Town of Lockport, or from the Town of Newfane that road conditions deteriorate tremendously?

-lockportmom