Residential areas last to be plowed

Some neighborhoods in Columbia are still feeling the effects of the winter weather from last weekend.

Jim Mallette lives on the west side of town. He said he’s mad his street is a sheet of ice.

“The snow turned to ice. It’s dangerous to drive on or walk on. It’s just a bad situation,” Mallette said.

He believes that roads, including residential roads, should be plowed as soon as the snow begins to fall.

But Steve Sapp, with Columbia Public Works, said that just isn’t possible.

Right now, the city’s policy is that if there is less than four inches of snow, city crews will not use overtime hours to clear it in residential areas. That means that the roads will not be plowed or treated until business hours unless there are more than four inches of snow.

Sapp said this policy has been in effect for several years, and he doesn’t think that will change any time soon.

“We have a finite budget, and no one can tell us how many snow events we’ll have this year,” he said. “It’s a process of balancing based on a budget and what we think will happen.”

The budget for snow removal is about $500,000. If the city goes over that budget, it’ll have to pull from other places.

“That means that it’s potholes not getting fixed or leaving other road repairs unfinished,” Sapp said.

And it’s a waiting game for many Columbia residents, because first- and second-priority roads get cleared first.

“We clear them over and over until they’re passable. With 1,300 miles of road to plow, it’ll take time to do that,” Sapp said.