Denver's fleet of large and smaller 4x4 truck plows took to the streets to dig the city out of its snow-covered streets, cars and buildings.
The city had decided to deploy its snow plows to side streets following the clamor by a frustrated public after the previous two storms left many residents high and dry, or rather ice bound and wet. Many roads had remained packed with ice.
We asked mayoral candidates how they would tackle Denver's snow plow woes.
Robert Treta:
"[We need] a sun exposure evaluation on how these high rises are impacting our roads. Builders and developers will not obtain a building permit unless they pay the City and County of Denver a right-of-way maintenance fee. They don’t shovel their walkways, and it turns to ice. It’s dangerous, people are walking in main roads. When residents are away, they should have a resource such as 311 to call [to clear their walkways]. There’s an organization called Snow Angels, but it’s not effective. It’s a volunteer program and hard to get them to come out and you have to really find them. I want to put together a work program for the homeless to shovel walks around the city. There’s a young capable, viable workforce, and we need help shoveling the sidewalks. The city needs to be doing a much better job with the snow removal."
Kelly Brough:
"I know Denver residents want to hear a mayoral candidate promise to regularly plow side roads, but as a former Chief of Staff who managed the City’s response to snowstorms, that would be financially irresponsible. That is why I will maintain the policy of only plowing side streets for storms forecasted to produce more than six inches of snow."
Andy Rougeot:
"The poorly plowed streets of Denver are another sign of the failure of this Mayor and City Council. As Mayor, I will make sure our streets are plowed, including our side streets. I will also keep our streets safe, regardless of weather, by enforcing the camping ban and adding four hundred police officers to Denver's police force."
Leslie Herod:
"When it comes to snow removal, Denver is ready to do better. It is not just about snowplow drivers, and if this street or that street is cleared; we know the city employees working to remove the snow are understaffed, and we don’t have the resources to plow every street and right of way. We must ensure that our snow removal workers are supported and have the appropriate equipment they need to succeed. Our priorities as a city should be on getting from point A to point B. That means making sure that snow is not piled up in places like pedestrian walkways and crosswalks and right-of-ways, forcing people to walk in the street to get to their cars or business without having to navigate mounds of ice. We have all seen how that leads to people slipping and falling or hazarding cars driving by. That is unsafe and unacceptable."
Thomas Wolf:
While “plow the damn roads” may play to some reactionary voters, it shows little self-awareness from mayoral candidates who are current or former elected officials, lack of accountability and ignorance of the snow removal response plan. Perhaps most importantly, it invalidates their alleged climate credentials and harshly reveals them to be opportunistically brown versus truly green. Sadly typical, just politicians being politicians. In my administration, we will not curse randomly to seek favor, instead in all matters we will take an evidence-based approach and continually evaluate to optimize systems and budgets. We will also acknowledge the fine plow drivers that take on a cold dangerous task, often while we are warm in bed. So instead of crying wolf about a snowstorm, please vote Wolf to see your city run with competence and made safe clean and smart."
Terrance Roberts:
"My plan for snow removal would be first to make sure we have a fully staffed, well managed, and maintained fleet of city owned vehicles and equipment especially for snow removal during winter months. These types of services can and should also be contracted to small businesses who can get to places where the city is missing spots but need extra support. There should be a special emphasis and attention paid to school areas, side streets, and senior living complexes and communities. Our removal vehicles and staff should be employed while snow is coming down and manageable as each inch piles up, like CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) does to manage our highway traffic and safety. A well managed department and executed plan like this could keep our roads and vulnerable walking/biking areas much safer and clear of dangerous levels of snow and ice that could disable much needed thoroughfares."
Kwame Spearman:
"I will lead our city the way that I lead my team at Tattered Cover: Denverites need to feel seen and heard. And if you look at some of our city's services — ranging from 911 response times to trash pickup to slow plowing — it doesn't feel like we're listening. This mentality will change under my mayorship. Specifically, regarding snow plowing, we need to evaluate all on-call contracts with private operators to ensure we have the best and most responsive snow plow operators. We also need to develop a snow program that ensures sidewalks and bike lanes get the same city support that our roads do. And most importantly, internally and externally, we will create metrics that the city must achieve to ensure we're doing a good job. If we fail to meet these metrics, we'll find new partnerships to get the work done."
Aurelio Martinez:
"[Snow removal] has been a big issue in Denver for as long as I can remember. We don’t have to stop productivity simply because we get snow on the ground. We have to take care of the people that live here in Denver, as well as the people that are driving in from outside of Denver to come into work. People don’t want to hear excuses. ‘We only have 10 trucks, or five trucks’ or whatever it is, fix it. You need more trucks? Buy more trucks. You need more drivers? Hire more drivers. Do whatever has to be done so we take care of the people that live here in the city. That’s what we have to focus on, and that’s what we will focus on so that when we get these major snowstorms, we don’t want to be paralyzed. Let’s just stop lollygagging and do it."
Trinidad Rodriguez:
"As mayor, the city’s snow response will be improved with more up-to-the minute, detailed communication with the people of Denver, specific to their location. Denverites will know where snow removal operations will occur for each storm. People will be able to plan their commutes and other trips better. What can Denverites do to support their neighbors by ensuring accessibility ramps and sidewalks are cleared at intersections? We can coordinate among volunteers, like neighborhood watch programs, to leverage the work of plows so everyone can be mobile regardless of weather conditions."
Paul Fiorino:
"The plows hit and block alleys and junctions, [snow] piles up and remains. Pedestrians must jump puddles or navigate a perilous path to the other side. Bike trails get plowed early and they are the chosen path since sidewalks are extremely inconsistent. Alleyways need attention too. 311 reporting is available but, will it get the attention that is asked? So far, no. I feel for the seniors pulling groceries or wheel-chair bound having to detour or literally scream and turn to find another way. We need a comprehensive plan that brings private plows and public plows and institution services to see the problem places. Tall buildings block the southern sun, so those roads freeze up and stay that way. Development needs to address that issue. One plow makes it harder for another smaller plow, which moves snow from here to there, leaving the pedestrians in turmoil or dangerous situations."
Matt Brady:
"Infrastructure is on my list of priorities. Denver sidewalks are in disrepair and that prompted a ballot issue for additional funding as you well know and it passed, although it was fairly close. Sidewalks that are now uneven and cracked up are more difficult to shovel and even less safe during the winter. Growing up in Michigan, I am very familiar with snow and cold and driving in winter conditions. Immediately as mayor, I would ask city council for funding to handle weather emergencies and purchase more snow removal equipment. [I would] seek to hire more maintenance personnel and more temporary staff, some with their own equipment, to handle side streets quickly as well as major streets. When I was living in my original Michigan hometown there were city employees and contractors who removed the snow off all the sidewalks with small plows and snow throwers for each storm."
Lisa Calderon:
"Unsafe roads, walkways, and bike lanes make our city less accessible, particularly for elderly and disabled people. As mayor I will revamp the plowing plans we crafted over 40 years ago. We can both keep our neighbors safe by clearing both major arterials and side streets without reviving the "brown cloud.” We must not only rapidly build more protected bike lanes and ADA-compliant sidewalks for those walking or rolling, but we must also scale-up our budget to clear these pathways. By shifting transportation department resources from sweeping encampments during freezing weather to instead focusing on clearing our snow packed streets is an example of environmental justice policy that I would enact as mayor. It is also essential to recruit more transportation workers and support their unionization and higher wages for these labor-intensive jobs. By addressing this issue holistically, we can keep our communities safe while still hitting our environmental goals."
Ken Simpson:
"The city is doing the best it can with the resources available. Major streets and of course Denver International Airport are always first on the list for snow plowing to keep the city humming. Crime and homelessness funding should be a priority over snow plowing any day of the week. These storms do not happen often. Crime and homelessness is an every day problem though. We should declare a state of emergency on those two areas instead of wasting resources on a climatic once in 32 year event."
Editor's note: Some of the answers were edited for brevity.
