Smithfield's Wintery Streets

            Smithfield City Facilities Department had its first snow removal experience of the season last weekend. The storm was a quick reminder to the community of how dangerous the roads can be after having months of snowless roads.

            There were several vehicles that slid off of the road but no serious injuries according to Smithfield Police Department.  

Smithfield has winter parking restrictions that began on Nov. 15 and will end Mar. 15. There is no parking on the roads from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. including vehicle and trailers.

“It always takes a few weeks after the parking restriction begins to get the construction trailers off the road by all the new subdivisions,” Public Works Coordinator Doug Petersen said.

It makes it difficult to plow when the trucks have to maneuver around vehicles and trailers, Petersen said. It makes obstructions in the road with snow when the vehicle is moved.

The Smithfield Street Department is responsible to plow just over 30 miles of roads, nine city parking lots and those buildings sidewalks.

With all 10 Facility Department employees, they can clear all the areas of snow in about eight hours, Petersen said.

There is about two full days of preparation for the next storm though. They had to fix broken equipment and refill the sand trucks among numerous other things, Petersen said. 

“They do a pretty good job with such limited resources to do it,” Smithfield resident Steve Edwards said.

Other residents disagree.

“They are always really slow to start and don’t salt the hills so they are so slick to go down,” Lisa Castillo said.

Smithfield City budgets 15,000 dollars for salt each year, City Recorder Dean Clegg said. “This gets us 350 tons of salt.”

“This may sound like a whole lot of salt, but to last all season, we can only do hills, the busier subdivisions and the highway,” Petersen said. 

Petersen recommends that vehicles stay back when following the snow plows, especially when on a hill. “People get right up behind us and if our brakes lock up, we slide backwards,” Petersen said.

Residents also have a responsibility for snow removal. The city clause requires residents to remove snow on their sidewalks in a timely manner.

“It is frustrating when people don’t shovel their sidewalks. I have a little girl in leg braces and uses crutches that has to try to get through them when going to friends’ houses,” Mandy Waite said.

There seems to be no enforcement of the clause, other residents said.

Petersen and the other employees also have concerns with how residents plow their sidewalks and driveways.

“Residents will plow their snow right into the road thinking the plow will get to it. The problem is, by the time we do the snow is packed onto the road and we can’t get it. This just makes ruts,” Petersen said.