Readers: City Meets Snow Removal Expectations
Last week readers weighed in on the topic of snow removal:
Q: How good of a job does the City of St. Louis do at snow removal?
- About what I expect 68 37.57%
- I expect better 60 33.15%
- Better than I’d expect 31 17.13%
- Other answer… 18 9.94%
- No opinion 4 2.21%
A close second was the expectation of a better job. The other answers were numerous:
- We specifically bought an AWD drive car because we live IN the city.
- I am betting that “I expect better” wins.
- Snow removal is an unecessary expense.
- what about sidewalks
- I would like better, but realize it is not realistic due to budget realities.
- It’s sporadic, sometimes good, sometimes bad. unpredictable.
- pathetic, northern states do much, much better
- Worst ever for a city with annual snow.
- They do a great Job!
- Great!
- Snow in STL is so infrequent; the city spends to much time and energy on it.
- the lack of plowing side streets is a reason to live in inner suburb.
- I’d LIKE better
- Depends how good your Alderperson is
- About what I expect, but I expect a terrible job.
- Embarrasingly awful
- If you want side streets plowed, you need to pay more in taxes.
- Laughable
Clearly readers have different expectations causing a wide variety of answers. Wondering if the ice & sleet this week has changed any opinions?
– Steve Patterson
In Detroit, the city will not plow unless there is 6 inches of accumulation…. Something to think about. 🙂
Denver, with an annual snowfall of 60-100 inches, only plows arterial streets and primary collectors. They also only plow when there is an accumulation 6 inches or more. Nobody complains. Life goes on. People walk or take public transit if they can't drive. Despite snow pack on neighborhood streets through a lot of the winter, everyone lives! Heck in 2009, we got hammered with 18″ of snow… in October. And to the residents there, it was like nothing weird happened.
in the Midwest, however, we complain if the city plows don't come right up to our driveways. I am from the Midwest originally and it took me living in Denver for two winters to realize how big of whiners we are in cities like St. Louis and Kansas City when it comes to snow.
Now put a Colorado native in a Missouri summer…
People complain about everything and anything. This winter is worse than usual but most winters we get what, two significant snowfalls a year? It's not fun when we do get major snowfalls but in my experience with a small non-awd car, the side streets are always drivable. Main roads have always been just fine.
Comment #17 hits the nail on the head. If you want 100% perfectly plowed streets then lobby your alderman for higher taxes to pay for it. Or move to Ladue or some other super high property tax suburb. Or you could just deal with it the 2-4 out of 365 days a year it's actually an issue. Jeez…
Agreed, we typically have mild winters and for the most part our roads are fine.
Look in the mirror before complaining. It's now Friday. The snow/sleet from the latest storm ended on Wednesday, yet my part of the public sidewalk is one of the few that have been shoveled/chisled out on my block in southwest city. We can't afford to have government do everything for us, but we can each at least take (better?) care of our own part of the city. And Bunche is right – Denver does it better, especially the part about dealing with it – shovel your walks, dress appropriately, wear good shoes, learn how to drive, get good tires, clean off your windows – we have winter every year, here and there, some better, some worse. And eventually the snow does melt. If you can't deal with it, just stay inside . . . .