VDOT Cleared Major Roads but Ignored Neighborhoods – Time to Complain?

[Anonymous]

I am really disappointed at how bad the roads are in 22101. Even downtown Mclean is in rough shape. The number of accidents tomorrow is going to be rough.

[Anonymous]

My sister in Fairfax is reporting the same as us here in Loudoun.

Our HOA neighborhood streets, which are plowed by a landscaping company, are pristine. The company made 3 passes on them that I know of. They have all common area sidewalks pristine and nicely salted. The HOA nasty-grams will start arriving today for all residents who haven't yet shoveled their sidewalks.

The streets outside of neighborhood that are maintained by VDOT are terrible. They are now packed down to solid sheets of ice from residents going in and out yesterday. I believe these roads are considered secondary roads by VDOT, so I would expect they should have gotten some attention yesterday or today, right? None so far.

The main roads in town are also pristine, but that's to be expected since VDOT focuses on main roads first.

But Loudoun is unique in that we have so many Western Loudoun dirt/gravel roads, which is what always causes our prolonged snow days. There are still people on the Western Loudoun fb group asking for help getting cars unstuck from ditches and trying to hire people to come plow for them. Like, bffr! This is not your first rodeo, guys. How do you live out there and not have plowing services already lined up? How do you live out there and expect to jump in your car Tuesday morning on roads that haven't been plowed and easily make it to a doctor's appointment?

[Anonymous]

I am livid. I have a 4WD car which broke down during the storm and will not run (of course this happens at the SH!ttiest time) and the tow truck cannot even get to me. WTF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were marked complete on the plowing map but had not been plowed. Apparently there was a glitch in a new system that resulted in us being missed. Im sure ours is not the only affected neighborhood so if you have not been plowed out by now, contact the Northern VA district VDOT management office:

https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/about/districts/#northern-virginia

here's what their system says: VDOT crews work to make roads passable. Particularly with colder temperatures, residents should not expect bare pavement, or that roads will be plowed curb to curb. The online snow maps are marked complete when all roads have had a single pass over them. While the snow maps track the initial pass, work continues to ensure roads are passable, even after the maps are no longer in use.

so if they plowed one time in the middle of the storm Monday morning, it's complete. never mind that the storm hadn't finished. so under their definition it is absolutely complete. it's also stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were marked complete on the plowing map but had not been plowed. Apparently there was a glitch in a new system that resulted in us being missed. Im sure ours is not the only affected neighborhood so if you have not been plowed out by now, contact the Northern VA district VDOT management office:

https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/about/districts/#northern-virginia

here's what their system says: VDOT crews work to make roads passable. Particularly with colder temperatures, residents should not expect bare pavement, or that roads will be plowed curb to curb. The online snow maps are marked complete when all roads have had a single pass over them. While the snow maps track the initial pass, work continues to ensure roads are passable, even after the maps are no longer in use.

so if they plowed one time in the middle of the storm Monday morning, it's complete. never mind that the storm hadn't finished. so under their definition it is absolutely complete. it's also stupid.

I’m the PP who provided contact info for northern Va office of VDOT. We were never plowed, during the storm or otherwise. VDOT was unaware that we hadn’t been plowed because the system marked us completed in error. Turns out the wrong maps were distributed to the contracted plows assigned to our neighborhood. I’m guessing it happened elsewhere too.

[Anonymous]

No plow in our neighborhood at all. At this point car traffic has packed everything down so I bet VDOT won't bother. But if they'd come through Monday or even Tuesdaymorning, we could have had clear pavement instead of hazardous ice now.

[Anonymous]

how do they even pass out the wrong maps? they just gave them the Main Street maps? the contractors never said huh, those cross streets are completely unplowed, I should tell someone? the county doesn't spot check for quality/actual completion? YIKES all around!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No.

It is not time to complain

Make some coffee, open some wine and enjoy this special time with your kids. They will be teenagers before you know it and won't want to hang out with you. Soon, you will miss the snow day days.

Oh look, "special time with your kids" mom has joined the chat. Hi there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were marked complete on the plowing map but had not been plowed. Apparently there was a glitch in a new system that resulted in us being missed. Im sure ours is not the only affected neighborhood so if you have not been plowed out by now, contact the Northern VA district VDOT management office:

https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/about/districts/#northern-virginia

Sorry I don't believe that! I watched a plow come down our street once Tuesday morning and it completely skipped a culdesac offshoot. There's no way they could have missed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No.

It is not time to complain

Make some coffee, open some wine and enjoy this special time with your kids. They will be teenagers before you know it and won't want to hang out with you. Soon, you will miss the snow day days.

Oh look, "special time with your kids" mom has joined the chat. Hi there!

LOL...so triggered mom who wants kids out of house at any cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No.

It is not time to complain

Make some coffee, open some wine and enjoy this special time with your kids. They will be teenagers before you know it and won't want to hang out with you. Soon, you will miss the snow day days.

Oh look, "special time with your kids" mom has joined the chat. Hi there!

LOL...so triggered mom who wants kids out of house at any cost.

+1 they want childcare so they can work.

[Anonymous]

My neighborhood was plowed on Monday and Tuesday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We've lived here 35 years. This is all normal operating procedure for after a snow. Same old, same old.

The PP is correct. The sidewalks have to be absolutely clean with not one speck of snow or ice on them. Then school can resume.

This is not how they nothings in the upper midwest and northeast. At this rate, our children will be out of school for two weeks.

[Anonymous]

VDOT is majorly incompetent and failing. There procedures for clearing secondary roads is inadequate. School systems pay the price. Anybody mad at schools being closed should be blame VDOT. Efforts need to be made to look at these policies and procedures.

Property owners need to clear sidewalks. Even still, there are many public sidewalks (no property owner responsibility here) that need cleared for kids to walk to school. FCPS has over 50K walkers! Does any other school system in the country have as many walkers?

[Anonymous]

Put plows on school buses. Win-win streets get plowed and kids get to school.