March mess sparks discussion

Last week’s slushy snow mucked up downtown sidewalks, raising

some eyebrows about the level of service for snow removal in that area

By Per Peterson

Last week’s winter blast that left the area covered with a couple of inches of wet, heavy snow not only put off spring, it raised the ire of some Tracy residents.

That’s because the decision was made by the City to not move the snow as it normally would, including from off downtown sidewalks.

Tracy City Administrator Erik Hansen said at Monday’s Tracy City Council meeting that the City tries to balance the need to move snow with the cost of doing so.

“When we don’t plow, that means we don’t do anything else associated with snow removal, like sidewalks downtown,” Hansen said. “One of the reasons we have these kinds of policies is that every time we have to move snow it costs $4,000-$6,000, which depends on the size of the snowfall. We don’t chase every small snow that comes through.”

Tracy Public Works Director Shane Daniels presented to the council Monday and said the service level on the sidewalks downtown is predicated on the City moving snow on the streets — one doesn’t happen without the other. Since there wasn’t at least 2 inches on the road at any given time because of the temperature, there were no City crews moving snow anywhere.

See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.