MCPS gave County list of snow issues on Sunday at 2:13 pm. Under 2 hours later MCPS blamed County for Monday closure

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Seriously? Don’t public entities have a core of personnel that have to work to keep emergency operations going.

Contrast that with DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.

I guess no one is holding MCPS accountable to a high standard. Or even a mediocre standard

Seriously please stop quoting this “DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.” Clearly you have a hard on about those districts. MCPS has had food distributions sites open since last Wednesday.

And while I certainly think MCPS shoukd have communicated challenges more quickly, it's disingenuous for the county to act as if they don't understand what things are needed from them to ensure school can operate fully. They know sidewalks, bus stops, and space for buses to pass are needed. So really this is on everyone.

I don't think think the county is responsible for clearing most school bus stops. Most are on private property. Some are on MCPS property.

Correct, the county is not legally responsible for schoolbus stops or schoolbus routes. It's not on their to-do list. They plow, in order, large roads, medium roads, small roads, and then, they think about stuff like bike lanes and major sidewalk arteries that may not have individual ownership.

This is why parents are making a fuss and demanding better coordination between county and MCPS during future snow removal. Somewhere on their list, the county has to think about clearing bus stops a little better, both public and school ones. They're never cleared for pedestrians and it's so unpleasant for all passengers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Seriously? Don’t public entities have a core of personnel that have to work to keep emergency operations going.

Contrast that with DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.

I guess no one is holding MCPS accountable to a high standard. Or even a mediocre standard

Seriously please stop quoting this “DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.” Clearly you have a hard on about those districts. MCPS has had food distributions sites open since last Wednesday.

And while I certainly think MCPS shoukd have communicated challenges more quickly, it's disingenuous for the county to act as if they don't understand what things are needed from them to ensure school can operate fully. They know sidewalks, bus stops, and space for buses to pass are needed. So really this is on everyone.

Yes do stop. This is Montgomery the LARGEST county in the state with diverse streets.

[Anonymous]

And WHO will hold them accountable? Anyone anyone...didn't see any hands.

[Anonymous]

The responsibility for plowing school bus stops is generally divided between the county (for the roads) and adjacent property owners or the school system (on-property areas), and varies by specific location.

• County/State Highway Departments: These agencies are typically responsible for clearing public roads. Many counties prioritize snow removal on primary roads and designated school bus routes to ensure buses can travel safely.

• Property Owners: The clearing of sidewalks, including those leading to and from bus stops, is often the legal responsibility of the adjacent homeowner or business owner. Residents are frequently required to clear sidewalks within a certain number of hours after a storm ends.

• School Systems: School districts are usually responsible for snow removal on school property, including parking lots, bus loops, and sidewalks within school grounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Seriously? Don’t public entities have a core of personnel that have to work to keep emergency operations going.

Contrast that with DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.

I guess no one is holding MCPS accountable to a high standard. Or even a mediocre standard

Seriously please stop quoting this “DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.” Clearly you have a hard on about those districts. MCPS has had food distributions sites open since last Wednesday.

And while I certainly think MCPS shoukd have communicated challenges more quickly, it's disingenuous for the county to act as if they don't understand what things are needed from them to ensure school can operate fully. They know sidewalks, bus stops, and space for buses to pass are needed. So really this is on everyone.

So now the county has to do their job and the job of MCPS! The county has a much bigger job and schools sat around doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

This is a bit too much into the weeds. Get a hobby!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And WHO will hold them accountable? Anyone anyone...didn't see any hands.

I think the Council at the end were complaining about the two hour delay. So hopefully they will open on time on Thursday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The responsibility for plowing school bus stops is generally divided between the county (for the roads) and adjacent property owners or the school system (on-property areas), and varies by specific location.

• County/State Highway Departments: These agencies are typically responsible for clearing public roads. Many counties prioritize snow removal on primary roads and designated school bus routes to ensure buses can travel safely.

• Property Owners: The clearing of sidewalks, including those leading to and from bus stops, is often the legal responsibility of the adjacent homeowner or business owner. Residents are frequently required to clear sidewalks within a certain number of hours after a storm ends.

• School Systems: School districts are usually responsible for snow removal on school property, including parking lots, bus loops, and sidewalks within school grounds.

I've never seen a homeowner clearing their verge at a (school)bus stop, and my kids are now 20 and 15! If there was a stop on my portion of the sidewalk, I'd make it a priority, because I'm wired like that, for both regular bus and school bus stops. But apparently, I'm in the minuscule minority...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard about that. I think MCPS was asleep at the wheel all of last week, not realizing that this snowstorm was different from all the other storms we've had, and that snowplows had great difficulty clearing the ice... and so MCPS panicked over the weekend when they realized parents would be furious if Monday wasn't open, and threw everyone under the bus. I noticed they blamed homeowners as well.

They were asleep because they didn't have to go to work at all. Code Red means everything is closed, and it was Code Red Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. GMAFB

Seriously? Don’t public entities have a core of personnel that have to work to keep emergency operations going.

Contrast that with DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.

I guess no one is holding MCPS accountable to a high standard. Or even a mediocre standard

Seriously please stop quoting this “DC and Alexandria where they opened up on Wednesday including with food distribution sites.” Clearly you have a hard on about those districts. MCPS has had food distributions sites open since last Wednesday.

And while I certainly think MCPS shoukd have communicated challenges more quickly, it's disingenuous for the county to act as if they don't understand what things are needed from them to ensure school can operate fully. They know sidewalks, bus stops, and space for buses to pass are needed. So really this is on everyone.

So now the county has to do their job and the job of MCPS! The county has a much bigger job and schools sat around doing nothing.

Exactly

It's a little rich to take the whole week off and then on Sunday afternoon bash the people that have spent all week coordinating snow removal across literally thousands of miles of roads. MCDOT certainly wasn't perfect but they gave an honest and clear presentation today of how things went and what they could do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them. "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment.

[phone]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them. "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment.

[phone]

County is not responsible for school bus stops

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them. "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment.

[phone]

County is not responsible for school bus stops

The bus stops aren't the only problem. Some roads are not passable for buses due to the way they've been plowed and maneuverability issues. The buses couldn't even get to the stop. That is the fault of county plowing. And if a bus can't get down there, a fire truck probably couldn't either. Again, not on MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them. "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment.

[phone]

County is not responsible for school bus stops

The bus stops aren't the only problem. Some roads are not passable for buses due to the way they've been plowed and maneuverability issues. The buses couldn't even get to the stop. That is the fault of county plowing. And if a bus can't get down there, a fire truck probably couldn't either. Again, not on MCPS.

I completely agree that the county could have done better. However, the County prioritizes snow emergency routes for emergency vehicles. MCPS should coordinate with the County regarding its school bus routes. MCPS sending the County a list of issues on Sunday afternoon and not 2 hours later bashing the County publicly is incredibly disingenuous. They didn't care about opening, they cared about blaming someone in order to stay closed. If they really wanted to open they would have been communicating with the county much earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them. "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment.

[phone]

County is not responsible for school bus stops

The bus stops aren't the only problem. Some roads are not passable for buses due to the way they've been plowed and maneuverability issues. The buses couldn't even get to the stop. That is the fault of county plowing. And if a bus can't get down there, a fire truck probably couldn't either. Again, not on MCPS.

I completely agree that the county could have done better. However, the County prioritizes snow emergency routes for emergency vehicles. MCPS should coordinate with the County regarding its school bus routes. MCPS sending the County a list of issues on Sunday afternoon and not 2 hours later bashing the County publicly is incredibly disingenuous. They didn't care about opening, they cared about blaming someone in order to stay closed. If they really wanted to open they would have been communicating with the county much earlier.

Snow emergency routes were cleared throughout the storm, many by the state, and by several days out, they were more than fine. Neighborhood roads should not have been impassable to larger vehicles 7 days out and it should not be MCPS responsibility to tell the county that their clearing of neighborhood streets was inadequate. It seems like the county literally made one half-a$$ed pass on some streets and then never went back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them. "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment.

[phone]

County is not responsible for school bus stops

The bus stops aren't the only problem. Some roads are not passable for buses due to the way they've been plowed and maneuverability issues. The buses couldn't even get to the stop. That is the fault of county plowing. And if a bus can't get down there, a fire truck probably couldn't either. Again, not on MCPS.

I completely agree that the county could have done better. However, the County prioritizes snow emergency routes for emergency vehicles. MCPS should coordinate with the County regarding its school bus routes. MCPS sending the County a list of issues on Sunday afternoon and not 2 hours later bashing the County publicly is incredibly disingenuous. They didn't care about opening, they cared about blaming someone in order to stay closed. If they really wanted to open they would have been communicating with the county much earlier.

Snow emergency routes were cleared throughout the storm, many by the state, and by several days out, they were more than fine. Neighborhood roads should not have been impassable to larger vehicles 7 days out and it should not be MCPS responsibility to tell the county that their clearing of neighborhood streets was inadequate. It seems like the county literally made one half-a$$ed pass on some streets and then never went back.

I think you need to read the definition of what the county considers passable.