Be Prepared: Emergency Procedures Planned To Maintain Safety, Traffic Flow

Thursday's snow ended up without serious problems for street crews or drivers, but the crews and others in charge of the city's snow removal plans were ready anyway.

Hank Radtke, city street superintendent, says in some ways preparing for a snow storm is in some ways a guessing game.

"Every storm is different," Ratdke said.

But had it looked like this week's storm would have taken a turn for the worst, the city does have a plan. But, Ratdke said, that plan "changes" from storm to storm.

"Sometimes you get a three-inch storm with 40 mile-an-hour winds and you have to declare an emergency," he said. "The next one might be five or six inches and you don't."

Either way, city officials say it's important for residents to be aware of the city's Snow Removal Plan so they are aware of what to expect.

The plan deals solely with snow emergencies, which are declared by the city manager or his designee. In making that call, the city manger and other officials look mainly at the forecast and what is expected out of a storm. If it looks like there will be either a lot of snow, or a lot of drifting, an emergency is declared.

Sometimes, Ratdke said, the tricky part is that when a snow emergency is declared, there might not be even the hint of snow in the air. But the decision is made based on how quickly the storm will reach town, allowing for residents to plan ahead as well.

The city will get the word out through its web page, social media and other forms of communication. Once the emergency is declared, Ratdke said, it remains in effect for the entire storm event, unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

For the part of residents, the declaration is a signal to stop parking along the street along the city's emergency snow routes, the main thoroughfares through town.

Sidney Police Chief Joe Aikens said there is usually enough lead time on declarations to allow residents to plan parking changes. Keeping the emergency routes clear of parked vehicles allows crews to clear the entire street. If vehicles aren't moved, officers ask residents to move them. As a last resort, vehicles can be towed.

"The last thing we want to do is wake somebody up at two in the morning to ask them to move their car," Aikens said. "And we really don't want to have to tow a car, either."

When it snows, those routes become the priority for the city departments working the storm. Snow is cleared from those areas before any others receive attention. Once those streets are cleared, crews move to secondary streets and schools, and finally to residential areas.

Sometimes, Ratdke said, it takes a long time for crews to move to stage two and three clearing.

"We've had storms where all we can do because of the snow and wind is make continual passes just to try to keep a driving lane clear on the snow routes," Radtke said. Occasionally, he said, all snow activity stops if the storm is bad enough and trucks have a hard time moving around themselves.

"When we become a hazard," he said, "we don't need to be out there either."

When clearing the streets, two methods are used along snow routes. Where possible, snow is pushed to one said. For others, the bulk of the routes, snow is wind-rowed, then picked up and hauled away.

During plowing operations, Aikens and Radtke offered a number of suggestions for safe driving.

Two of those, Ratdke said, are dangerous situations that can result in severe damage to vehicles or occupants. The first is following trucks too closely. He said if a truck has to stop quickly, or back up, the trailing vehicle can be hit because the driver didn't know it was there.

The same goes with passing. Radtke urges caution when someone feels they need to pass a snow plow, but said drivers should never pass on the right.

"The (truck) drivers can't see them when they pass on the right," Radtke said. "Vehicles can be damaged by the snow, or go out of control. That's just a bad place to be."

Aikens added when traffic control is necessary, not all of it is performed by uniformed officers. He wants people to be aware that people from other departments sometimes take stations and urges caution any time they are driving in snowy conditions.

The city's full snow plan is available on its website.

Sidney Emergency Snow Routes

• 17th Avenue (Haskell Hill To Cedar Street)

• 16th Avenue (Sky Manor To Cedar Street)

• Cedar Street (19thAvenue To 13th Avenue)

• 13th Avenue (Cedar Street To Lodgepole Road)

• San Marino Road (Lodgepole Road To Country Club)

• Country Club (El Rancho To 11th Avenue)

• 11th Avenue (1Qthjtoledo Intersection To Old Post Rd)

• 10th Avenue (Toledo To Hickory)

• Illinois Street/Hwy 30 (23rd Avenue To L-17-J)

• Hickory Street (13th Avenue To 9th Avenue)

• Jackson Street (14th Avenue To 7th Avenue)

• 12th Avenue (King Street To Hickory Street)

• 11th Avenue (King Street To Hickory Street)

• 9th Avenue (King Street To Hickory Street)

• Newton Street (10th Avenue To 19Th Avenue)

• 19th Avenue (Newton Street To Illinois Street)

• Osage Street (10th Avenue To Dorwart Drive)

• Dorwart Drive (Osage To Charles Drive)

• Forrest Street (10th Avenue To 21 8th Avenue)

• Summit Drive (11 th Avenue To Hillside Drive)

• Fort Sidney Road

• Old Post Road (Cr 113 To Silverberg Drive)

• Toledo (13Th Avenue To Fort Sidney Road)

• Parkland Drive (11Th Avenue To Fort Sidney Road)

• Pine Street (10th Avenue To Dorwart Drive)

• Linden Street (7Th Avenue To 13th Avenue)

• 7th Avenue (Illinois To Linden Street)

• Manor Road (East Drive To Sky Road)

• Sky Road (Manor Road To Haskell Hill Road)

• L-17-J (North City Limits To Chase Blvd)