Ramsey Resident - 2007 - November/December

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~ Public Notice -~~'.p Snowplowing FAQ Q. What kind the snow total ends up in the two the draw backs of salt is it starts of equipment - four inch range. In larger snow- to lose its effectiveness at about does the city use fall events we keep trucks out fifteen degrees. Environmental for snowplowing? clearing "main" routes so emer- issues can also arise if salt is not A. Currently the city of Ramsey has gency services can respond. In applied properly. the following equipment: one very large snow events, staff will Public works staff will be test- motor grader, two tandem trucks post public works plow equip- with pre wetting equipment, four ment and personnel with the fire ing several different chemicals single axle trucks equipped with department to help them respond this winter to see if they can help front plows, wings and sanders, to emergencies should they arise. clear our roads and lower our use one front-end loader equipped Our main objective is to have as of salt and salt/sand. Distribu- with a front plow and wing, many roads as possible open for tors of these chemicals claim they seven pick-up trucks with plows the morning commute and then can cut salt use by as much as (used mainly on cul-de-sacs and clean up the streets when the 30%. This testing will be done parking lots), and two sidewalk majority of residents are at work on several problem areas where plows. or school. Ifwe start at 2:00 a.m. heavy tree cover keeps the sun This equipment is used to clear we are normally done with the from reaching the pavement most main roads within eight hours, of the winter. The lack of sun approximately: 150 miles of results in a build up of ice that road, 240 cul-de-sacs, 720 inter- with cul-de-sacs tal(ing up to ten hours to complete. requires constant applications of sections, numerous parking lots, sand or salt to control. ice skating rinks and trails. Q. What does the city of Ramsey Public Works staff members are use to control ice and snow on Q. Why doesn't the large plow on call twenty-four hours per day, our roads? truck clear my cul-de-sac? seven days a week to mal(e city A. At this time, the city of Ramsey A. The large plow equipment is not of Ramsey roads as safe as pos- uses straight salt as a de-icing designed to worl( in smaller areas sible. material. A salt/sand mixture because safety is a main concern. is used only when temperatures A large amount of backing up, Q. How does public works deter- are too cold to allow salt to work in a fairly small area, is required mine when to start plowing? efficiently. Sand is a short-term to clear a cul-de-sac. The large A. The city contracts with a pri- fix at best. It is best used in very trucks have poor visibility to the vate weather service to give us cold weather to provide tem- rear, so we try to avoid using frequent forecasts during snow- porary traction. It has no real them in cul-de-sacs. Efficiency storms. This service combined melting properties and depending is also an issue. A large trucl( with Internet websites, MnDOT on the amount of traffic, the sand can clear five to six blocks of forecasts, and local TV/radio will be embedded in to the snow main roadway in about the same information all help us plan for or blown to the edge of the road amount of time it would take the an approaching storm. Two by passing traffic. The trend in driver to clear one cul-de-sac; inches of snow is our normal de-icing today is moving away therefore it makes more sense to trigger point, but may vary due from using sand. Some reasons only use the large equipment to to conditions. Ideally, we prefer for this trend are air-borne pol- clear the roads. to start at 2:00 am. The reason lution, and clean up costs associ- is because the roads are clear of ated with sand. Q. Why should I stake the curb/ most cars and pedestrians at that boulevard near my home? time of the morning and crews Salt is a good de-icing agent A. Stal(ing the boulevard helps the can worl( without much interfer- because it is relatively inexpen- plow driver visualize the edge ence. This plan works well if sive and in large supply. One of of the road. In a heavy snowfall 6 www.ci.ramsey.mn.us