Onondaga County Town Highway superintendents snow and ice removal
To the editor:
The Onondaga County Highway Superintendents Association writes in response to a number of inaccurate statements made by candidate(s) for office regarding how we handle snow and ice removal. Some have said publicly and repeatedly that they see snow plows lifting their blades and not plowing roads they are driving on. There is a very legitimate and unambiguous reason for this. Each truck, at every highway department in the state has a carefully calculated and logistically sensible route that they are to maintain; many highway departments are even using GPS monitoring. When the call goes out, the driver heads to his route (plow and wing in “travel position”) and begins the snow removal process. If each driver were to drive to their designated route plow and wing down and the salt spreader on, they would be low on salt and wasting taxpayer time and money before they get to their designated route.
It’s no secret that Onondaga County gets an immense amount of snow each winter. It takes strong partnerships and a lot of hard work to clear the roads and help folks get where they need to go safely. A decentralized approach to snow-plowing and salting of roads has proven to be the most efficient method; the closer the trucks are to the roads they are responsible for, the faster the snow and ice gets removed.
Through our partnership with Onondaga County, the towns and villages now handle snow and ice removal for 337 of the 800 miles of county roads all winter. It is a remarkable model of efficiency based on the highest and best use of our collective resources. It is also one of the longest standing shared service agreements in County history.
The contracts between Onondaga County and the towns and villages for snow and ice removal were renewed for another 5-year term in 2017 which means, the taxpayers of Onondaga County can know we are continuing our strong partnership to provide the most efficient and cost-effective snow removal service. It’s a great deal for the state, the county, the towns & villages, and most importantly, the taxpayers who support all of our operations.
The Onondaga County Highway Superintendent’s Association wants to make it clear that we all work together, and have been for decades, to prepare for and efficiently handle whatever winter brings us each year. This year is no exception and we stand ready to again work with our partners at the state and county to keep the roads safe and dry.
Onondaga County Town Highway Superintendents Assoc.
