APS VA Snow Day Projection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who commuted to work this morning, how was traffic in and around Arlington?

I commuted last week too. It's fine. It's slower going at some intersections that aren't the right amount of lanes and/or a turn lane isn't cleared. Just allow extra time and it's fine.

+1 to all of the above. It's going to be a nightmare Wednesday when APS has all the kids back at school on time and the roads still don't have all the turn lanes/parking lanes cleared. (Not blaming anyone, just making an observation).

APS can't win.

Wait until it's fully cleared? Parents will complain.
Have kids go back before it's fully cleared? Parents will complain.

It's not about winning, it's about making the choices necessary to get kids back to school as soon as possible. I'll live with the bad traffic, I wasn't even complaining about it if you bothered to read the post, I said I was making an observation. School openings shouldn't be based on all of our "feelings."

Great. Then then the whiners should STFU and let APS do its thing.

Again, it is not whining to point out they could do a better job and think about how they could do a better job and then give constructive suggestions to School Board members, which it is their actual job to listen to us and direct the superintendent. They are not doing their "thing" very effectively and no we don't just need to STFU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

It's not used to clear a major snow storm when it's bitter cold out. That's crazy talk and what was being suggested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

I agree with this. It's likely a budget argument. The equipment costs money. The county staff doing this work are getting extra pay for extra hours and for coming in during off hours. Contractors are getting paid. The County spends the money and APS doesn't. They don't always play well together and when budgets are tight, this stuff is not an insignificant expense. APS should plan to spend more money on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

It's not used to clear a major snow storm when it's bitter cold out. That's crazy talk and what was being suggested.

In the snow country, they would and do absolutely lay down a layer of salt after the clearing snow to prevent icy refreeze. No it doesn't clear actual snow. It's a big part of the process though for sure.

This article also addresses alternatives they use in colder weather, which is common in these environments.

https://engineerfix.com/what-states-use-salt-on-roads-and-why/

There are trucks specially built to plow in the front and drop the ice out the back. Been behind many of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

It's not used to clear a major snow storm when it's bitter cold out. That's crazy talk and what was being suggested.

In the snow country, they would and do absolutely lay down a layer of salt after the clearing snow to prevent icy refreeze. No it doesn't clear actual snow. It's a big part of the process though for sure.

This article also addresses alternatives they use in colder weather, which is common in these environments.

https://engineerfix.com/what-states-use-salt-on-roads-and-why/

There are trucks specially built to plow in the front and drop the salt out the back. Been behind many of them.

Sorry drop the salt out the back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

It's not used to clear a major snow storm when it's bitter cold out. That's crazy talk and what was being suggested.

In the snow country, they would and do absolutely lay down a layer of salt after the clearing snow to prevent icy refreeze. No it doesn't clear actual snow. It's a big part of the process though for sure.

This article also addresses alternatives they use in colder weather, which is common in these environments.

https://engineerfix.com/what-states-use-salt-on-roads-and-why/

There are trucks specially built to plow in the front and drop the ice out the back. Been behind many of them.

They don't use salt to clear the roads, as was being suggested. That's what plows are for. We aren't at the part where salt prevents black ice. Our issue is massive piles of snow and ice blocking lanes and sidewalks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

It's not used to clear a major snow storm when it's bitter cold out. That's crazy talk and what was being suggested.

In the snow country, they would and do absolutely lay down a layer of salt after the clearing snow to prevent icy refreeze. No it doesn't clear actual snow. It's a big part of the process though for sure.

This article also addresses alternatives they use in colder weather, which is common in these environments.

https://engineerfix.com/what-states-use-salt-on-roads-and-why/

There are trucks specially built to plow in the front and drop the ice out the back. Been behind many of them.

In Connecticut what's dumped out the back depends on what God's sending down. In weather like we experienced, the salt mix would contain sand and sometimes small pebbles...or a higher grit grain of salt? I'm no expert, just drove on it for years.

[Anonymous]

Actually, they used to throw sand and pebbles here in the past. When they went to that chemical spray, I think that stopped. I always remember having sand on my snow boots as a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's not forget the full week they were out of school following winter break at some point after covid. Not this year, not last year...but some recent year. 2022?
Acting like this never happens is silly.

Yes - they were out the full first week back in 2022 and most of the first week of last year (2026). The conditions were marginally better for both of those years than for this, but it happens with enough frequency that they should have a better plan than "wait for it to melt."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not forget the full week they were out of school following winter break at some point after covid. Not this year, not last year...but some recent year. 2022?
Acting like this never happens is silly.

Yes - they were out the full first week back in 2022 and most of the first week of last year (2025). The conditions were marginally better for both of those years than for this, but it happens with enough frequency that they should have a better plan than "wait for it to melt."

Fixed that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

It's not used to clear a major snow storm when it's bitter cold out. That's crazy talk and what was being suggested.

In the snow country, they would and do absolutely lay down a layer of salt after the clearing snow to prevent icy refreeze. No it doesn't clear actual snow. It's a big part of the process though for sure.

This article also addresses alternatives they use in colder weather, which is common in these environments.

https://engineerfix.com/what-states-use-salt-on-roads-and-why/

There are trucks specially built to plow in the front and drop the ice out the back. Been behind many of them.

They don't use salt to clear the roads, as was being suggested. That's what plows are for. We aren't at the part where salt prevents black ice. Our issue is massive piles of snow and ice blocking lanes and sidewalks.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who commuted to work this morning, how was traffic in and around Arlington?

I commuted last week too. It's fine. It's slower going at some intersections that aren't the right amount of lanes and/or a turn lane isn't cleared. Just allow extra time and it's fine.

+1 to all of the above. It's going to be a nightmare Wednesday when APS has all the kids back at school on time and the roads still don't have all the turn lanes/parking lanes cleared. (Not blaming anyone, just making an observation).

APS can't win.

Wait until it's fully cleared? Parents will complain.
Have kids go back before it's fully cleared? Parents will complain.

It's not about winning, it's about making the choices necessary to get kids back to school as soon as possible. I'll live with the bad traffic, I wasn't even complaining about it if you bothered to read the post, I said I was making an observation. School openings shouldn't be based on all of our "feelings."

Great. Then then the whiners should STFU and let APS do its thing.

Again, it is not whining to point out they could do a better job and think about how they could do a better job and then give constructive suggestions to School Board members, which it is their actual job to listen to us and direct the superintendent. They are not doing their "thing" very effectively and no we don't just need to STFU.

Whine whine whine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d love my trash to get picked up, too, but that’s the nature of this storm.

Good news. Unlike schools, trash pickup back to regular schedule this week.

Not true. Arlington limited pick up to trash and recycling. Not green cans

This was an extraordinary weather event. Ice and terribly low temps. It isn’t snow removal but ice block removal.

Warm up starts Tuesday.

Ease up. No city could have handled this.

This is absurd. Many cities handle this all the time. People should be respectful when discussing this, but it's not "hysterical" to point out there are some lessons learned. In the era of climate change, we're going to get more extreme weather. Time to do some thinking on how to better manage these situations. There are so many things we could be doing better and planning for ahead of time. Stating that your government should do this type of review and asking questions and pointing out problems is normal.

Liar.

Some of you have clearly never lived anywhere with actual snow and ice and cold conditions. You think this type of event has never occurred in the history of the world or something? Totally laughable.

I grew up in upstate NY.

Many cities, especially those in the south, do not "handle" this type of icy, packed snow "all of the time". I've lived through several big blizzards and none were as challenging to remove as this. Snowblowers only would have helped for the initial snowfall. Temps were too low to salt roads in advance. It's tough to get heavy equipment into narrow, car-lined neighborhood streets.

The situation sucks. People being irrational dickheads about it aren't helping.

Up north they manage to clear the streets more quickly, before the precipitation has a chance to harden for days. It wasn't that hard to get this stuff off the roads on Sunday or even Monday. We did our cars and sidewalks and it wasn't terrible. But now it's hardened and is so so so much harder to remove.

APS literally had janitors with plastic snow shovels clearing schools. There's no way that's sufficient. Once the stuff is solid, you need heavy plows and bobcats.

We did ours as well. It took 2 of us multiple rounds just to do our sidewalk/driveway. And then more rounds after the plows came through.

Some schools have what 2-3 janitors? To clear the parking lots, sidewalks, etc.? Should each school have a snowblower? Many years, we don't even get snow. It is worth the expense and upkeep?

It was an oddball storm. We will get through it.

If you follow the thread, my comment was in response to some crazy suggestions that up north they use more potent salt or salt in greater quantity to clear streets. That's just wrong. They just remove the snow when it's fresh so it doesn't harden on roads.

But I do also think it's crazy that janitors are being asked to clear large areas of significant snow with a shovel. Arlington county has small plows and snow blowers for public sidewalks and bike lanes. There could be coordination. There are also options to sign up a private contractor to come and help with snow removal at schools. There are options.

It's not wrong that they use a lot more salt. Google "salt belt". It's terrible for cars and the environment. However, they do use more salt and salt with chemicals.

It's not used to clear a major snow storm when it's bitter cold out. That's crazy talk and what was being suggested.

In the snow country, they would and do absolutely lay down a layer of salt after the clearing snow to prevent icy refreeze. No it doesn't clear actual snow. It's a big part of the process though for sure.

This article also addresses alternatives they use in colder weather, which is common in these environments.

https://engineerfix.com/what-states-use-salt-on-roads-and-why/

There are trucks specially built to plow in the front and drop the ice out the back. Been behind many of them.

They don't use salt to clear the roads, as was being suggested. That's what plows are for. We aren't at the part where salt prevents black ice. Our issue is massive piles of snow and ice blocking lanes and sidewalks.

Exactly.

So leave earlier and go around them.