Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Changes coming to Lee's Summit snow plan

Changes coming to Lee's Summit snow plan



LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - Lee's Summit Schools cancelled class Monday due to "inclement weather," but more is in the forecast.
Kelly Olson is the General Manager at ‘Neighbors CafĂ©’ in downtown Lee's Summit. She dreads snow.
"Especially with downtown people, there's cars parked on the side of the street, so it is a little tricky to maneuver around. It is nice when they can get here in a timely manner," Olson said.
Bob Hartnett's main goal is to get the streets plowed. He's the Deputy Director of Public Works in Lee's Summit.
Hartnett explained the city is 65 square miles.  That's the equivalent of plowing from Lee's Summit to New York City.
This year their budget already took a beating.
"Our response for two inches is the same if it's two inches or six inches, so we've spent quite a bit of resources so far," Hartnett said.
Schools in the city closed because of ice from three days prior.
Hartnett and his team proposed changes to help cut down on the plow time.
One idea is to add "wing plows" to nine of their trucks.
"It effectively doubles the working capacity of any truck," said Hartnett. "Instead of a truck with a 12-foot plow on it making one pass, you add a wing plow on the side of it; that truck is now making two passes."
It'll cost the city around $130,000, and take their goal of clearing the city streets from 32 hours to 22 hours.
If the streets are cleaner faster, that's better for Kelly and her customers. "For them to know that they're able to get here safely is a big deal for us," Olson said.
Lee's Summit will get one "wing plow" to test out by the end of the winter season.
Hartnett also proposed hiring private contractors. The city hasn't made a decision on that yet.


Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/region_missouri/lees_summit/changes-coming-to-lees-summit-snow-plan#ixzz2sNGXQc55

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