WASHINGTON — Some side streets still have not been cleared in DC more than a day after the first snowstorm of the year.
DC’s Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice Chris Geldart said 110 plows and an additional 40 contract plows are working to clear all streets in the District.
He said the size of Monday’s storms really complicated matters for snow removal.
“Mother Nature really throws a curveball with a large, heavy dumping of snow very quickly,” he said.
Geldart said it's usually DC’s goal to have its main and secondary roads cleared within the first 24 hours of a storm. He added within 36 hours, crews work to complete most residential side streets.
Geldart thinks DC will get most of the work done by Wednesday.
“Anybody that may not have seen a plow on your street yet, trust me, they’re going to be there today, this afternoon, or tonight,” Geldart said Tuesday. “We're going to get through this and I'm fully confident that our crews will have hit every street in the city by tomorrow morning and I would say 85 to 95% of those will be cleared.”
Anacostia resident Justin Marbley said he was not impressed by the District’s snow removal efforts Tuesday. His street was still covered in snow Tuesday night.
“DC isn’t really doing a good job cleaning up this ice,” he said.
Anacostia ANC Commissioner Jamila White said the dangerous conditions on side streets made it dangerous for some people to carry out their daily routines.
“My neighbors right behind me are mainly a large community of elders and I’ve gotten a lot of calls today from folks who can’t get out their house who need COVID rapid testing kits and other supplies,” she said.
White said she would like to see crews plow roads east of the Anacostia river sooner, especially given the fact wards 7 and 8 have fewer amenities, hospitals, and grocery stores than the rest of the District.
“When we’re serviced kind of last or in between, we’re being more disenfranchised,” she said.