Following two significant snow falls that took place in the Wheeling area since Jan. 17, several local residents took to social media to levy criticism, and the local newspapers composed an editorial urging city leaders to improve the service.
But now that the National Weather Service has predicted additional snow accumulations later this week for the Wheeling area, City Manager Bob Herron spent some time on River Talk 100.1 FM late last week to explain the snow removal process in the Friendly City. The National Weather Service has forecast for the Upper Ohio Valley freezing rain changing to snow Thursday evening with three inches of snow possible.
On Friday, according to the NWS prediction, the organization’s meteorologists have warned that a potential for a winter storm does exist. Late Friday night, the low temperature is expected to be in the single digits.
“We pay a lot of attention to the forecast, so our crews on ready for the worst-case scenario,” Herron said. “As far as the snow removal, during my career I have been around snow and the snow removal issue for many years, and one thing I have learned is that there is no way to make everyone happy.
“I can say that our guys have been out when we have received a lot of snow, and they got the roads plowed multiple times, and there wasn’t a road that was missed,” he continued. “I know some people made some negative comments, but our crews worked very hard to make the roads as safe as they could be in those conditions.”
The city’s employees, though, do much more than clear snow from major arteries within city limits, Herron explained.
“In the city, we have steps that we have to maintain, and we have city bridges and sidewalks, too, so our crews are very busy when we get a significant snowfall,” he said. “But it really is about the roads, and not just the main roads either. We also take care of the roads in our neighborhoods because our residents rely on us so they can get to work.
“I know some residents get confused about what roadways the city is responsible for and which ones the state must maintain, and a good example of that is downtown Wheeling. Main and Market streets are the state’s responsibility, but the state crews are never going to touch the parking areas, and that is why the city does what we can do.”
The Press Release
Michelle Rejonis, the marketing and community relations specialist for the City of Wheeling, distributed a press release the afternoon of Jan. 6 with intentions of reminding residents and business owners of the specifics concerning an ordinance that was passed by the Council five years ago.
A portion of the release stated the following:
“Public Works Director Russell Jebbia said that in accordance with legislation passed by City Council in 2017, sidewalks within the following commercial areas of the City must be cleared within 24 hours of the weather event: 10th Street to 23rd Street including Water, Main, Market and Chapline Streets in the downtown; Zane Street from the Back Channel Bridge to the Fort Henry Bridge on Wheeling Island; and the 2100 and 2200 blocks of National Road in the Elm Grove area.”
The release, however, was criticized often on social media platforms soon after eight inches of snow fell on Wheeling in mid-January. But those posting believed some unmaintained sidewalks in the downtown areas were the responsibility of the city.
“The reason we sent out that press release was because we had received some complaints in other areas of the city that are subject to the sidewalk cleaning ordinance so we wanted the people to know which areas are subject to that ordinance and which areas are not,” Herron said. “The rule that includes a few areas is a 24-hour rule that requires snow removal.
“After the 24 hours had passed, we sent out our inspectors, and we only had six property owners who did not clean their sidewalks or the snow we received on Martin Luther King Day,” Herron reported. “The majority of the property owners did a very nice job cleaning their sidewalks, and the City did clean their sidewalks, as well.
“I know a lot of people who live here or work here want the snow to just vanish after it snows; that wasn’t going to happen with the kind of weather we’ve had lately,” he said. “That’s just not how it works.”
Some also were critical of the large piles of plowed snow along Main and Market streets that blocked parking spots along the roadways.
“When it comes to snow removal, the concentration is on the roads, and that’s what took place during the Martin Luther King weekend. We plowed the streets, and then on that Monday night, our crews went in and started hauling snow away from the downtown area,” Herron explained. “We could plow the parking areas but that would mean the snow would be plowed onto the sidewalks.
“That’s why it is better to just try to get the roads cleared and check to see if there are areas to clear so people can park. It might not be a perfect parking space, especially when we get several inches of snow, but that’s also why we go back in to haul out a lot of the snow during the nighttime hours,” he added. “But the big focus is plowing the snow off the streets so people can move around safely. That is our number one priority.”
