The winter storm that dropped more than a foot of snow on parts of Riverton last weekend prompted at least one resident to wonder whether the city’s snow removal plan might need to be updated.
Riverton’s current snow and ice control plan was adopted in 2017, and resident Zachary Vogel said a lot has changed since then, with new schools being built, for example, and health care facilities moving to new locations.
“We have different areas in town that possibly need to be reprioritized for our snow removal,” Vogel told the Riverton City Council during a meeting this week, asking the governing body to “revisit what areas … actually need and have the most traffic, (or) the most places to get stuck.”
He pointed to his neighborhood near 12th Street and Park Avenue – an intersection where Vogel said an “eight-car pileup of people” got stuck in the snow on Monday – but added that “it’s not just that street alone.”
“All these residential places that people are coming from are the ones where people are getting stuck,” he said.
Mayor Tim Hancock thanked Vogel for his comments and said the council would “talk about” the issue.
“I agree (that) businesses change, locations change, where we’re driving changes,” Hancock said. “It’s definitely something I think we want to keep looking at.”
Priorities
Later in the meeting, city administrator Kyle Butterfield said staff would “happily” review Riverton’s snow removal plan “to see if it is appropriate to change some of our priorities.”
Those priorities were set based on the presence of traffic, schools, and hazards like hills and curves, he reminded the council.
“Our policy states that local and residential streets will receive service only after (those) priorities are treated, and when conditions warrant,” Butterfield said. “Local and residential streets are not intended to receive regular winter maintenance.”
He noted, however, that residents can call the city service line (856-3687) to request extra maintenance at specific locations, and staff will use their “discretion” to determine whether they can “help address some of those local and residential streets that normally wouldn’t receive service.”
“City staff recognizes that, outside of the priorities that we have treated, a lot of our streets are pretty difficult to traverse right now,” he said. “This is one of those years we’re just going to have to do the best we can.”
Last week’s storm “just wouldn’t quit,” Butterfield recalled, commending city crews for their work clearing the roads.
“I’ve seen the hours that have gone in, and the leadership that’s happened,” he said. “They spent their New Years holiday fighting a storm. … I’m very proud of our team.”
For more information call the City of Riverton at 856-2227.