It might be pouring rain outside on this gloomy Tuesday afternoon, but it’s December. That means that soon enough frigid torrents like these will transform from drops of water into snowflakes, and begin piling up on the streets, sidewalks and in our yards. The City of Boston is prepared, however, and ready to take on what the Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting as one of the harshest winters in recent memory.
Snow operations in Boston are handled by the Public Works Department. Because of the severity and fickle nature of Boston’s weather, the PWD takes a multifaceted approach to snow removal. Using City of Boston and contracted equipment, GPS technology and a hefty budget, Commissioner Michael Dennehy and his team are able to, for the most part, keep Boston functional during flurries.
Up to my swearing in I think there were three major storms. The cost of those three were the same as the next six.
The PWD is afforded an approximately $18.5 million budget dedicated exclusively to snow and ice removal. Most of the funds are used to account for communications, the price increase of salt from $45 per ton last year to $55 per ton this year, and privately contracted plows and equipment. Almost 90 percent of snow removal equipment is contracted – 530 out of 600 pieces.
In recent years, though, the city has undergone slight revisions in the way snow removal personnel and equipment are deployed.
“In the past the city would put the private contractors on the street first and then follow up with the city plow, and hit the private contractor again,” said Mayor Walsh while giving me a tour of his digital dashboard. “So if we have a decent size storm and hit it three times, two of those times are from private contractors. We changed it so if you’re only hitting a street three times: city, already paid for it; private, which is contracted; city for the third one. It saves money on the cost.”
Commissioner Dennehy is nearly always prepared for the wrath of Mother Nature because his department uses Precision Weather, a meteorological research tool that aggregates and determines weather conditions accurately in advance. The minds behind Precision Weather are certified meteorologists who’ve been providing location-specific weather reports to over 170 cities, towns, businesses and schools throughout New England since 1991.
If nasty weather does descend over the city, PWD snaps into 24/7 mode. working around the clock until roads are sanded and salted. If two or more inches accumulates, the plows are summoned.
Each plow is also outfitted with SnowCOP (common operating picture) which tracks each driver and reverts the information back to Mayor Walsh’s digital dashboard. This way, he can get a feel for what’s happening on the streets of Boston in the midst of a storm right from his desk.
It’s also linked to the mayor’s 24-hour hotline, so if calls roll in from a certain neighborhood, the information is also made available to the plows via SnowCOP.
SnowCOP also tracks which streets have been plowed and the length of time that’s passed since it was cleared. A green display represents an area that was plowed up to an hour ago, yellow from 60-90 minutes ago, and red from 91-120 minutes ago.
“Due to Mayor Martin Walsh’s foresight, the City of Boston’s Public Works Department purchased approximately 25,000 tons of road salt at $45/ton (versus $55/ton FY15) in the spring to stockpile sheds,” said Mayor Walsh’s press aide Gabrielle Farrell. “This saved nearly $250,000 of tax payer dollars. At this time, the City of Boston is well equipped to salt the roads during the inclement weather this season.”
This preparedness will definitely come in handy, especially if the Farmer’s Almanac predictions come true and if last year is any indication.
“Last year up to my swearing in I think there were three major storms,” said Mayor Walsh. “The cost of those three were the same as the next six. It’s about saving taxpayers’ money and using that money better. At the end of the day, that’s money we can use somewhere else that’s not on snow.”
Related: If you haven’t yet, subscribe to our daily morning newsletter, In The Know, where we provide an early update to the weather forecast for the day. Be as prepared as Mayor Walsh is for our first real snow of the season.
