Deck The Streets With Berms City Plan Calls For Snow To Eventually Melt Away

Slushy streets, smushy streets. It’s Christmas time in the city. Shovel-throw, see the snow. Soon this will melt all away.

Or at least that’s the hope city street crews hold for the downtown snow berms that got plowed into place over the past weekend.

Normally, the city doesn’t plow downtown. But the recent snowfall and cold temperatures forced the big blades into the streets, creating the snow berms in the roads.

“In 25 years, we’ve never plowed downtown,” said Terry Thompson, the city’s Street Department supervisor.

“We treat it with chemicals to get it to melt. In certain cases with cold temperatures or lots of snow, we are forced to plow like we did,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the city and downtown businesses worked out this arrangement “years ago.” Businesses didn’t want the city plowing snow to the side because it keeps people from parking.

The chemicals the city uses to melt the snow work best at temperatures of 20 degrees and above. This weekend didn’t see consistent temperatures above that and so the plows came downtown, Thompson said.

“Believe it or not, the downtown area has had more time and money spent on it than any other portion of the city, period,” Johnson said.

Since Friday morning, the city has had one to two trucks working on the downtown core 24 hours a day, Johnson said.

For the rest of the week, the city plans to smush the berms, put de-icer over them and then plow them back up until they melt away.

Only once in the 1990s has the city hauled away the center berms of snow.

“We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars to do that,” Johnson said. “That wouldn’t happen unless we had a lot more snow.”

All of the city’s snow routes - which are listed on page 39 of the telephone book - should be plowed by tonight, Johnson said.

During a big snowfall, city crews split up to work evenly on north and south routes. Over the past weekend, crews started on the east side of the city and worked west. During the next big snow, they will start on the west side of the city and work east.

“That way, nobody can say `You always do me last,”’ Johnson said.

Some downtown merchants were either pleased with the city’s job, or nonjudgmental.

“I think they do as much as they can with the money and people they have,” said John Ferris, manager of Joel Inc. home furnishings. “If people want to complain, I think they should look in the mirror. I think Spokanites have to take some responsibility for it, let’s not just blame the city again.”

Michael Edwards, president of the Downtown Spokane Partnership, said given the circumstances, the “city did a pretty good job.”.

At the Hotel Lusso and Fugazzi restaurant, owner Joe Dinnison watched people slip and slide as they crossed the street.

“It is easy to criticize, but that may not be the best thing to do,” Dinnison said. “It seems like they could have done a better job, but that is pure speculation on my part.”

Longtime downtown businessman Penn Fix of Dodson’s Jewelers was pleased with the plowed streets.

“Usually, they just let the cars mush it down,” Fix said. “Actually, when it snows we get more customers. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe people get excited about Christmas.”