TOPEKA (KSNT) – Topeka City Manager Robert Perez talked about the city’s reasoning with clearing local streets following a recent winter snow storm.
Perez discussed the city’s snow removal efforts during the monthly city manager-mayor press conference on Jan. 27. Topeka road crews held back on treating and plowing some streets following the arrival of snow on Jan. 23-24.
Perez said the decision not to treat and clear some areas came down to the type of snow the city received during the storm. The snow was dry and powdery and many drivers were able to get decent traction on the streets even without treatment.
City workers chose to not use chemical treatments on the roads which, in the freezing temperatures, could have added a layer of ice to the roads. The city also chose not to plow residential streets to avoid throwing snow onto already-cleared walkways.
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Perez said these decisions were made based on real-time reports from drivers and weather conditions.
“Our fear was that looking from a safety perspective, if we go out and we start treating the streets, things melt down and then we have ice that night,” Perez said. “So, we do look at the public safety first and foremost as far as the considerations that that we take into account when we make those decisions.”
The City of Topeka ended its 24-hour operations the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 25.
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