SNOW UPDATE: Over 18 Inches So Far; Community Center, Library Closed Sunday
The City’s snow emergency routes and major roads are passable and crews (working around the clock) will begin clearing side streets as soon as possible. The volume of snow (over 18 inches in Falls Church) is making it difficult for road crews to work on side streets while still keeping major roads clear.
The Community Center and Library will remain closed Sunday, December 20. City government programs’ status, delayed opening and/or closing announcements for Monday will be posted on the City web site Sunday afternoon.
Residents are urged to avoid trying to drive – stuck, abandoned cars are blocking snow plows. Sledders and skiers should also stay off roads to avoid getting hit or slowing the plows’ progress.
As the snow stops falling, residents will need to clear snow from driveways, entrances and sidewalks. Residents must remove snow/ice from sidewalks surrounding the property 12 hours after snowfall. If the snow falls at night, residents have 12 hours after sunrise to remove it. Snow/ice must not be placed on City streets.
Commercial property owners must remove snow/ice from sidewalks surrounding the property six hours after snowfall. If the snow falls at night, businesses have six hours after sunrise to remove it. Snow/ice must not be placed on City streets.
By Falls Church Times Staff
December 19, 2009
Does anyone enforce the sidewalk snow removal policy? Trying to walk a dog around this little city that’s supposed to be pedestrian-friendly is pretty difficult lately.
Dana,
Good question, but I hope there is no enforcement until the snow plows finish their work. My boys and I worked for hours yesterday shoveling the snow off the sidewalk in front of our house and those of two elderly neighbors. Today the snow plows came through and completely covered those sidewalks again. Everything we did was a waste of time. And now instead of light, fluffly snow covering the sidewalks, we have 18 inches of a heavy, wet, icy mix. The second time around will take even longer.
Guidance from the city would be welcome!
Thanks again for your comment.
Stan Fendley
Maybe the Mayor and Dan Maller will go against their normal views and realize non-school services are as important as schools. Our side roads are the worst in the region, Park Ave is a sheet of ice. Schools are closed (which is good) but non-school workers are expected to report according to the City website. Who ever made the call to leave City Hall open yesterday needs to provide their faulty reasoning to the public. City Hall was and still is a safety hazard, falling ice, ice hanging over entrances, no parking, and Park Ave is iced over. I can only assume the person who made the call was not at City Hall yesterday because when I tried to go to DMV yesterday around lunch time it was an adventure. Maybe a better decision would have been to have closed City Hall and with all the money that would have been saved, more ice removal providers could have been hired. I fear every time the going gets tough the City decision makers will drop the ball like they continue to do. I wish a small portion of my tax dollars would have been used for adequate snow removal vs. the unnecessary hedges that were planted outside of City Hall during recent budget woes or hiring a firm to come up with a lame logo that no one outside of the City will ever recognize as a branding piece. Falls Church still has its 2003 spending habits except where it matters most (resident safety)!
I live on the far east side of the City (actually have an Arlington mailing address despite being fully in the City) and the neighborhood streets (Quesada, Rochester, and 11th Road North, our connection to Roosevelt St, all of which are shared with Arlington County) have not been touched. At this point, the streets are covered by packed, icy snow, complete with ruts, that needs sand or salt (not sure a plow would be of any use).
Robert, you’re kidding right? The City crews were out getting the streets open throughout the snowstorm and your complaint is that you couldn’t get into the DMV? Driving outside our little city, it is much worse (see Bill Brew above – BTW Bill, did Arlington plows come, or do they stop at the city line leaving your part of the stree orphaned?) I think the City crews have done an admirable job in extraordinary circumstances. One need only to look at Broad St. on Sunday, which was running one lane each way instead of two, to see how dificult this must have been. I’m not City apologist, but in this case, we are fortunate.
As far as the shrubs go, I welcome the new low shrubs vs. the old overgrown wall of bushes that existed previously. I sincerely doubt that the shrubery project, done over a year and a half ago, had any impact on our current budgetary problems.
Gordon, nope, neither City nor County plows have been by. I have never been sure who owns the streets — the Falls Church houses [I think there are a dozen or so of us] are on one side of Rochester and Quesada Streets, the Arlington houses on the other. Most snow storms, we see plows from both jurisdictions. This time, at least so far, from neither.
Gordon you have twisted what I said. The snow crew has worked hard but they are under staffed (no fault of their own). That is the problem. You also said I did not make it to DMV, that is also wrong I have a 4×4 truck and made it with ease, I even found it fun. Had my wife or mother needed to visit DMV I would not have been mad because the ice overhanging the entrances, roads, and parking lots were very dangerous. Driving outside of the City is not worse. I drove all over Fairfax and even up to Gaithersburg with little issues and guess what, the ice and gov’t parking lots were not issues because those County decision makers were right in their decisions to close up shop. So that you don’t twist my points again I will make it clear again. City workers are hard workers and are short on staff, City Hall should have been closed yesterday because it was a hazard unless you have nice snow boots, 4×4, and love dodging falling ice, like me. Also Gordon, the shrubs were done very close to the time 7 positions were cut and our little City put into place a hiring freeze. Hiring freeze = frozen roads due to lack of snow removal staff.
The city crew is down 5 people because of the budget. We are all going to have to make some adjustments. The crew that is left worked around the clock. I think all jurisdictions have similiar problems. We need to be thankful for all the hard work that the existing crew has accomplished in the 6th biggest snow fall ever in this area and the worst in a December.
I’ve noticed that sidewalks in front of residences are actually better (this year) than they have been in the past. Who has responsibility for the sidewalks in front of the “old” post office & the now-vacant lot that used to be 2 Sisters Coffee? Those did not appear to be touched yesterday. Didn’t venture that way today.
For what it’s worth, the hedges around City Hall were swapped out in May of this year – maybe the plan was put in place a long time ago though.
Also, I assume that when schools and City Hall are closed we still pay the staff so how much savings would we really see by closing City Hall? I’m not saying it would have been a bad idea to close City Hall – I’m just saying it probably wouldn’t really have saved much money and even if it did it probably wouldn’t have helped get more snow cleared.
How does the state of emergency work? Do we get extra money from the state and if so, what can/did we use it for?
As for Dana’s question, I assume the owners of the old post office building are responsible for clearing the snow (I think it’s the owner’s responsibility – not the tenant). The old 2 Sisters Coffee lot is actually owned by the Economic Development Authority – so I’m not sure who should clear that sidewalk. I’m guessing it technically falls on the City but maybe I should get out there and shovel (I’m a member of the EDA). I did notice this morning that Broad Street on that side is pretty bad.
OK Robert, sorry if you think I twisted your words, I just wanted to say that the City crews have done an admirable job considering the circumstances, but I’ll concede your point about opening the offices – maybe they shouldn’t have opened. None-the-less, we are very fortunate to have the snow removal capabilties of our staff when compared to our neighbors.
This may be three days late and more than a dollar short, but I wanted to weigh in on the snow plowing, or lack thereof. I live on Falls Avenue, closer to Offutt than Broad, and our street has yet to be plowed. I am so thankful for Curry’s Auto Service because a bunch of their guys came out and shoveled Falls Avenue in front of their facility, but the rest of the street is a mess. Offutt is in worse shape than Falls – it is like driving the back roads of a third world country. I know that this was a remarkable snow event, but felt that if the plows had come through once or twice during the snowfall, rather than waiting until it subsided, or in my case, at all. Unfortunately, now all we are left with is thick chunks of ice. Please don’t get me wrong, I love FCC and the people who keep it running smoothly, many of whom are my good friends – I was just surprised by the lack of clean up during and after this storm.
It seems like at this point all roads should be plowed since some roads have been plowed multiple times. Is it possible that some streets were just missed? Does the City have a specific mechanism for residents to alert them to possible oversights? If nothing else, I’d send an email to city-manager@fallschurchva.gov just to make sure they know they’ve missed a street. Obviously, the guys have been working hard but it wouldn’t surprise me if a few spots were missed by mistake.
As for the shoveling of sidewalks – I noticed this morning that my efforts around my house (living on a corner is not so great right about now) fell victim to the same thing Stan Fendley mentions above. In my case, the sidewalk along Little Falls completely adjacent to Little Falls so when the crews kept plowing to clear the full width of Little Falls the snow necessarily ends up on the sidewalk. In front of most of my house the next thing is a 3-4 foot retaining wall. That means that my only options for clearing the sidewalk are to lift the nasty snow/ice 3-4 feet up on top of the retaining wall, or haul the snow/ice away, or shovel it back into the street (assuming the plows won’t bother coming through again).
This is a real issue. The obvious short term solution seems to be to not bother plowing the full width of Little Falls – it’s a wide road and completely passable even with a few feet of snow left on both sides. The long term solution is to make the road narrower and the sidewalks wider – but that’s not likely to happen any time soon (if ever).
At this point I can’t see myself clearing the sidewalk again so I’m hoping they don’t fine me!
The thing I am most thankful for was the fact that I did not have a power outage. I don’t know about everyone else but I hate not having power.
In the “more fun yet to come” category, I see that Arlington County is asking help from residents to clear out storm drains.
Their email says “Arlington County is asking all residents to pitch in and help direct the water run off as the snow melts from the recent storm. Most of the storm drains are blocked with accumulations of snow and slush. This prevents water run off from entering the storm drains creating standing pools of water that refreeze when it gets colder.”
Predictions of freezing rain for Christmas make this a bit more urgent.
I agree with Barry B. but, I will be more blunt. Stop all the whining – roll your sleeves up and do some work. We have been spoiled by the level of service we receive in our “little city” but, that was yesterday. Budgets have been cut and will be further reduced in the future. FC residents should stop crying and bond together to overcome perceived difficulties the old fashion way. Use some of that energy to assist your neighbor to clean their car off or offer to go shopping for someone who can’t make it out.
These are great times to become a good neighbor and a great citizen!