As cleanup of “snowcrete” continues from the Jan. 25 winter storm, Alexandria officials discussed progress of snow and ice removal and ways to improve the response during future winter weather events.
On Tuesday, City Manager Jim Parajon briefed City Council about the unprecedented conditions that led to a longer cleanup effort than a typical snowstorm.
The Jan. 25 winter storm brought about 7 inches of snow followed by hours of sleet and freezing rain creating a solid layer of ice on top. Below-freezing temperatures in the week following the storm stalled melting that would normally accelerate the cleanup process.
“In our case, instead of moving snow, we actually have to pick it up, break it, pick it up, and then haul it away,” Parajon said. “That is why I would reference this is really a natural disaster and not a typical snowstorm. It’s also the reason that it’s taken us a significant amount of time, as well as our other regional communities … to be able to clear this.”
The city government had temporarily suspended the sidewalk clearing requirement, which normally kicks in 24 to 72 hours after snowfall depending on the storm severity. On Feb. 3, the sidewalk clearing ordinance took effect, requiring property owners to clear their sidewalks, driveways and entrances within 72 hours.
Parajon said most property owners have been cooperative with snow clearing, and Volunteer Alexandria’s Snow Buddy program has aided with the cleanup. The city has issued 110 warnings and three citations.
“Some of our enforcement efforts will start to ramp up a little bit,” the city manager said. “We’ve done a considerable amount of warnings and things like that, as well as some citations, primarily around commercial properties.”
Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley called for analysis on the city’s pause of enforcing the sidewalk clearing ordinance.
“What I’d appreciate for when the next time this happens is for the after-action report to have some clear lessons learned on that policy and how we could, in future scenarios, either keep the enforcement policy in place, but think about who are the networks we could activate to actually enforce it,” Bagley said.
Not every sidewalk may be cleared in time for Saturday’s George Washington Birthday Parade, according to Deputy City Manager Emily Baker.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins called for the city to communicate safe viewing areas.
“As we get closer, if things are not melting as quickly, maybe there are particular areas we push people to watching the parade so then they’re standing there,” Gaskins said.
The city’s snow removal crews focus on plowing roads, as well as publicly-owned sidewalks, walkways and pathways, city-owned parking lots and city-owned squares. According to the city manager, more than 500 city staff across 11 departments and over 200 contracted workers worked during the winter storm and the recovery effort.
In the aftermath of the snowfall, crews worked extended shifts and made multiple passes to create passable road conditions.
“We’ve hauled over 9,000 tons of ice,” Parajon said. “We filled six dump sites filled with ice and freezing snow.”
Parajon said the city has cleared about 60% of snow removal requests, is communicating with residents about 26% of requests and has yet to address another 15% of requests.
In the coming days, crews will continue clearing lanes and trails that may be partially or completely blocked as well as intersections with visibility issues for pedestrians, according to the city manager.
The city is also trying to avoid flooding concerns from melting snow and ice.
“We have focused pretty heavily on some of our drainage features so that we avoid flooding in case we have significant melt and then significant rain, so a lot of those inlets,” Parajon said. “That’s where you’ll see heavy manual work trying to break the ice in order to allow for the inlets to work properly. ”
Councilmember John Taylor Chapman said one future consideration could be utilizing Old Town’s garages for residents on an emergency basis. He also mentioned that some localities have temporary measures to reserve their shoveled-out on-street parking. Residents may informally claim their parking spaces now with a chair or trash can.
“I’m not saying we do this as a long standing, permanent policy,” Chapman said. “I think we look at how we implement this with the snow emergency declaration that we already have.”
Gaskins noted the West End particularly has numerous buildings with narrow paths cleared. The mayor called for the city to have a line of communication for renters with concerns about snow removal.
“I’d love to be able to empower people with, ‘here’s a concrete way that we can support you or help you,’ or ‘here’s a very specific way you can let us know so that we can follow up with those companies much quicker,'” Gaskins said.
Based on feedback from city crews, Parajon said the city needs to continue work on the accuracy of the snow removal map, better communicate the city’s snow and ice removal plan and coordination of contractors.
“I really do want to commend our staff and our contractors,” Parajon said. “These are significant people who have worked 24 hours a day, 12-hour shifts away from their families and friends, working day and night in conditions that most of us would dread, certainly, to ensure that we get as fast as speedy recovery as possible.”
City Council will receive a full after-action report with analysis and recommendations in March after the city’s full recovery from the winter storm.
