CLEVELAND — Thankfully, this past weekend didn’t bring the level of snow folks in Buffalo experienced, but parts of northeast Ohio still were greeted with over half a foot of snow.
The eastern suburbs of Cleveland saw the most snow this past weekend, with Lyndhurst getting over 8 inches of snow. Meanwhile, parts of Geauga County received over half a foot of snow.
“Snow and ice season is upon us,” said Bonnie Teeuwen, chief operating officer for the City of Cleveland on Monday.
Teeuwen, along the the city’s director of public works, Frank Williams, said Cleveland is in the process of optimizing its snow removal routes to make snow removal more efficient.
“We are really ready for these snow events because they are coming in a little earlier than we had hoped,” said Williams.
Williams also said the city is in the process of switching from paper maps to digital ones, in an effort to reduce the number of streets being missed by plows.
“We’re working to not necessarily be faster, but more efficient when we get into our residential routes, eliminate missed streets,” said Williams.
Williams said the city is also reworking its snow plow tracker, which was piloted by the city last year and allows residents to see in real time which streets have already been plowed.
“It also gives people the opportunity to see when we’re close, to move their vehicles,” he said.
So, while not many northeast Ohioans are thrilled to once again be bundling up like Randy from “A Christmas Story,” the city hopes these changes in snow removal will at least ease the pain when hitting the road this winter.
“If you haven’t seen us yet, just be patient. We are coming, said Williams.
To stay informed of emergencies during this winter season, the city is also encouraging residents to sign up for CodeRED. The free app is available to download for Apple and Android devices.
