Real OKC snow routes?

[TheTravellers]

This might be the place to post this according to the new forum realignment, but not sure...

Does anybody have a list of the *real* OKC snow routes that get plowed completely clean (as in all lanes on each direction)? Going by the map they have up on their site and juxtaposing that with reality today, they don't match. Yes, I know this is a once in a lifetime blizzard, but that's really not true - we've had 3 of them in the past 14 months. Yes, I know they only have 15-20 plows, but if you can't plow all your snow routes, then un-designate some streets as snow routes. Yes, I know they have limited crews, but it just seems like they're not following through, they do a once-over and then they're done until it melts by itself. They really need to keep plowing until they're clear, all lanes, each way, on each snow route - snow's been done for over 48 hours, wind's been calm for a day, yet the "snow routes" I took today were just horrible. May was in bad shape, mostly one lane each way from NW 164th to NW 122nd, NW 122nd was the same way, but worse between May and MacArthur. MacArthur was pathetic between NW 122nd and NW Expressway. This evening traffic was backed up westbound on NW 122nd between May and the Parkway (luckily I was going eastbound). Wife reported that downtown streets that were supposed to be snow routes weren't plowed very well at all as of noon today, so downtown snow routes on the map may not be valid either. Not completely sure which streets she takes, but she said she knew which ones were supposed to be snow routes that were plowed, but they turned out to be in sad shape, and one was completely impassable.

I know that I'm going to get jumped on for posting this, but maybe we can figure out what the *real* snow routes are that OKC plows for future blizzards, and yes, there will be future blizzards like this one at some point. OKC (via twitter) says they're still plowing, but apparently not on the routes I've driven today.

It's just really dangerous with all the idiot drivers that think they can barrel through the unplowed lanes, then end up f-ing up everybody else and themselves too with accidents, injuries, etc. And it's just going to get worse as more and more people decide to get out.

I'm not really posting this to be completely negative, but in the hopes of compiling a list of snow routes that have actually, in real life, been plowed the way they're supposed to be rather than relying on a semi-fictitious map so folks can possibly use this info to get around. Anybody want to start? I don't know of any, but maybe others do...

[Snowman]

Lincoln is probably the first street cleared, then May, Reno and Northwest Expressway. Broadway and Memorial will also be priorities.

Note: I don't get around much on east or south side of town.

[Easy180]

OKC was definitely not anywhere near prepared for another blizzard...3 days later and the southside streets are still terrible...Wasn't really prepared for them as Moore streets were in excellent shape

I know it is massive area wise but after this one I believe it is time to ramp up their snow movin capabilities...Buddy in Chicago had his neighborhood plowed dry the next morning

[Snowman]

OKC was definitely not anywhere near prepared for another blizzard...3 days later and the southside streets are still terrible...Wasn't really prepared for them as Moore streets were in excellent shape

I know it is massive area wise but after this one I believe it is time to ramp up their snow movin capabilities...Buddy in Chicago had his neighborhood plowed dry the next morning

Yea, we seem to be on the nature will take care of the main problem and equipped to try an make the way home semi-passable in most cases. Granted they clearly admitted before hand they were not equipped for it and not to go out.

[Dustin]

http://www.okc.gov/snow/okcroutes.pdf

[TheTravellers]

http://www.okc.gov/snow/okcroutes.pdf

Heh, yeah, that's the semi-fictitious map I'm talking about...

And BTW, I'm not slamming the plow/truck drivers, I fully support and thank them for doing what they can, it's just that I think the city leadership is just not quite clued in on what it takes to declare and keep a snow route fully open if you have that many of them in a storm like this.

[Snowman]

... it's just that I think the city leadership is just not quite clued in on what it takes to declare and keep a snow route fully open if you have that many of them in a storm like this.

Outside of this week, if you asked most people would they rather have ODOT staff up for the 3rd worst blizzard in state history or use the same amount on fixing roads, you would probably get a vote for spending on fixing roads.

[TheTravellers]

Outside of this week, if you asked most people would they rather have ODOT staff up for the 3rd worst blizzard in state history or use the same amount on fixing roads, you would probably get a vote for spending on fixing roads.

Actually, I'd probably still vote for fixing roads, and un-designate some snow routes.. :-)

[Easy180]

Outside of this week, if you asked most people would they rather have ODOT staff up for the 3rd worst blizzard in state history or use the same amount on fixing roads, you would probably get a vote for spending on fixing roads.

Very true but we get one more in the next few years and most would do a 180

[Thunder]

TheTravellers,

I only read thru half of your post before quitting. I just want to say this... The storm was packed with high wind long after the snowfall passed. They wanted to wait until the wind die down before plowing. With each passing hour, the snow was becoming more packed and tougher to plow thru. Today, I saw a plow truck having a hard time pushing all of the snow toward the curb. It just takes time. Be patience. Only drive out if you really have to.

[ou48A]

You will get no argument from me that the OKC snow removal efforts are pathetic.
It’s not the crews or even their supervisors fault. The blame goes to the mayor’s office and the city council.
Any map’s IV should address this issue.

I remember the hell OKC Mayer (sp) Lading caught for buying several snow plows for OKC back in the 70’s.
OKC and the other area city governments should equip part of their sanitation fleet with plows
Snow melting machines in downtown OKC might be worth investigating.
Something else to take a look at is an odd-even address parking policy.

The weather guys are talking about the possibility of another major winter storm with strong winds this next Tuesday and Wednesday. With not much melting expected another significant wind driven snow event will be far more parlaying than our most recent storm.

[ou48A]

Outside of this week, if you asked most people would they rather have ODOT staff up for the 3rd worst blizzard in state history or use the same amount on fixing roads, you would probably get a vote for spending on fixing roads.

You are probably right.

But keeping the snow off a road is actually a very cheap method of protecting a road from the freeze thaw damage that can cause many millions of dollars worth of damage to our roads.

[SOONER8693]

OKC was definitely not anywhere near prepared for another blizzard...3 days later and the southside streets are still terrible...Wasn't really prepared for them as Moore streets were in excellent shape

I know it is massive area wise but after this one I believe it is time to ramp up their snow movin capabilities...Buddy in Chicago had his neighborhood plowed dry the next morning

A number of the main streets in Moore were dry today. Not just cleared, but DRY. Meanwhile, south Western in OKC is yet to be touched.

[Easy180]

My mom called around yesterday trying to figure out what shape Shields was in (cause that's what she does) got a hold of a lady that said the north side is plowed by the city and the south side by contractors

Surprise surprise

[TheTravellers]

TheTravellers,

I only read thru half of your post before quitting. ...

Then you didn't get to the most important part. Seriously, the end is what the whole post is about...

[venture]

It is quite obvious the cities around the Metro have no ability to handle snow events that we tend to get 2-3 times a year (especially recently). The fact that we still had major roadways/highways still snow covered late into Wednesday (even tonight) is horrible and unacceptable. These things should have been scraped clean by now. Unfortunately we'll just get the "we don't have the resources, you'll have to wait for it melt" answer when asking any city official about uncleared roads. This is extremely troublesome for residential or secondary areas where children still need to be picked up or commuters need to travel from to get to work. Plus, we seem to have a situation where the city shuts down 2-3 days per event due to poor road conditions. How does this reflect on businesses looking at OKC as a home? Yes we may be sunny 330 days a year, but come winter expect a few days a bleeding red ink as employees can't get to work or call out because they aren't comfortable enough driving in it.

The most cost effective answer to this of course would be equipping the sanitation vehicles with quick hitch plows. This would drastically increase the snow removal fleet size and get the city running again much faster. We could also see secondary and residential areas cleared as well. Which would be a good thing since we aren't going to be above freezing much for several days. Road conditions will continue to be hazardous for school buses and commuters in these areas ignored by cities.

Hopefully this will start to really get addressed going forward as these events keep occurring on a regular basis.

[MustangGT]

Buddy in Chicago had his neighborhood plowed dry the next morning

Lucky folks. My uncle and aunt live in a suburb and have yet to see a plow in their neighborhood. Venture79 I agee in many ways. However what to do about all the cars parked in the neighborhoods? Plowing around them, as is done in other cities can in many instances make the problems worse and actually burrying a vehicle and delaying its removal. You will never see mandatory towing here in OKC in reference to snow removal. Danged if you do and danged if you don't.

[earlywinegareth]

I am independent by nature, hence I own a jeep.

[ou48A]

It is quite obvious the cities around the Metro have no ability to handle snow events that we tend to get 2-3 times a year (especially recently). The fact that we still had major roadways/highways still snow covered late into Wednesday (even tonight) is horrible and unacceptable. These things should have been scraped clean by now. Unfortunately we'll just get the "we don't have the resources, you'll have to wait for it melt" answer when asking any city official about uncleared roads. This is extremely troublesome for residential or secondary areas where children still need to be picked up or commuters need to travel from to get to work. Plus, we seem to have a situation where the city shuts down 2-3 days per event due to poor road conditions. How does this reflect on businesses looking at OKC as a home? Yes we may be sunny 330 days a year, but come winter expect a few days a bleeding red ink as employees can't get to work or call out because they aren't comfortable enough driving in it.

The most cost effective answer to this of course would be equipping the sanitation vehicles with quick hitch plows. This would drastically increase the snow removal fleet size and get the city running again much faster. We could also see secondary and residential areas cleared as well. Which would be a good thing since we aren't going to be above freezing much for several days. Road conditions will continue to be hazardous for school buses and commuters in these areas ignored by cities.

Hopefully this will start to really get addressed going forward as these events keep occurring on a regular basis.

venture79
Thank you for your post.

You said what I have been trying to say on 2 threads, but much better than me.
I have a feeling the only way we will get better plowing is if business leaders in the area voice their concerns and demand
a better response.

[brianinok]

What I don't get is why I see snow plows scraping next to nothing off a road they have already pretty much cleared while other snow routes go untouched. This is too common an occurrence.

[ou48A]

I’m going to guess that the routs that get cleared first are often the routs that are a priority for the folk with most local political clout leaving the other snow routs until last.

[easternobserver]

If you knew how much a sanitation truck cost, you wouldnt want to have it out trying to plow some snow. You could buy an awful lot of pickups and plows for the cost of wrecking even one sanitation truck.

[rcjunkie]

Never new OKC had so many snow/ice removal experts, learn something new every day!!

[venture]

Mustang - Yeah, people parking on the street does make snow removal an issue. I suppose you could go through and people that have a driveway, that are still parking in the street, ticket them for obstruction. Or let their neighbors go after them. :-)

Sid - I'm in Norman, and yes I've had discussions with the city every winter and get the same "shut up and go away" response. LOL

Brian - Can probably blame that on the people handling the route schedules. I would guess the drivers are only doing what they are assigned and ignoring the rest.

Eastern - Typically they are around $250-400k depending on the features. I'm not that naive to the value of them. :-) Considering the sanitation trucks could be dedicated to lower risk areas...secondary/residential streets...the risk of wreaking one would be lower. I guess if you want to go into this further, we'd need to look at the reliability and break down factor of using a pickup in a very high demand/stress situation.

[Larry OKC]

One of the inherent problems is blockage AFTER the plow comes through. Seen it many times were a business has paid to have their entrance way/lots cleared only to have the City come along, plow the street and reblock their entrance ways with several feet of hard packed snow. This happened where I work just as I got off work at 5 am Thurs. A fellow employee coming in had to flag down 4 different plows before he convinced 1 to undo the problem they had just caused.

Think this is going to be the problem my parents have over on SW 36 (Grand Blvd)...if and when the plow does come thru and clears the street they wont be able to get out of the driveway.