HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 04.aOperations & Maintenance
December 2040
• Its All About Snow
LAKEVILLE OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Christopher Petree, Director
December 2010
There is no point in reviewing the
December statistics for snowfall;
the various news media have
almost imprinted the numbers and
the impacts on our minds. What is
important to review though is
what it is like on the ground for the
staff who is called in early in the
morning to stem the tide of
encroaching snow on City streets,
trails, and sidewalks. Staff plows
over 500 lane miles of streets in
addition to over 110 miles of
sidewalks and trails and over 460 cul -de -sacs. This is accomplished with 20
dump trucks, a motor grader, front -end loader, 2 sidewalk machines, and
several smaller trucks; in all 35 people are needed to fill all the equipment for
standard snow removal operations.
The Streets Division, with 16
people, relies on both the Park
Maintenance and Utilities Divisions
to fill the remaining equipment.
During a snowstorm, snow
removal is the priority activity for
staff. The goal is to complete basic
snow removal in all parts of the
City within 12 hours after the
cessation of a storm. Snow
amounts and staffing do have an
affect on snow removal timing.
The December 11 snowstorm in
which the City received nearly 18
inches is a perfect example. Crews
were out from 4:00 a.m. to
8:00 p.m. that day and had made
at least one pass throughout the
City before conditions became so
bad that operations had to be shut
down. Both Dakota and Hennepin
Counties had had pulled their
crews off the road earlier that day.
Several staff slept at the CMF,
because they could not get
home. On December 12, the
high winds effectively erased
the progress of the day
before, and crews again
started at 4:00 a.m. The drifts
and hard pack snow
combined to reduce the plow
fleet by two as differentials on
two of the trucks broke down
and needed replacement.
Crews again worked through
the day, finishing at 5:00 p.m. With no
cleanup in earnest on Monday, December
new snow, staff was able to start
13.
The three days of concentrated snow removal operations produced over
1,000 staff hours of effort, roughly half of the hours used throughout the
entire month. Everyday since the
storm, crews have been involved in
some sort of snow related cleanup
effort. These include hauling snow
out of the downtown area,
improving visibility at intersections
by removing large snow piles,
benching back along plow routes,
and hauling snow from some
boulevards and out of cul -de -sacs;
all in order to be ready for the next
snow event.
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Snow removal is a team effort in
Lakeville. Each of the departments
involved in snow removal share
equipment and staff to do the best
job they can in maintaining both
resident safety and providing
timely service. Those operating the
snowplows appreciate resident
compliance with winter no parking
regulations as it makes it easier to
get through the City and is safer for
residents and plow operators.
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