Why are there NO city plows on the streets today trying to clear the rest of the streets of snow. 51st st going East to west and back is horrible and the intersection at 51st and Yale is a joke. There is still a city bus stuck on the side of the street on 51st st. I know that this was a record snowstorm but this is ridiculous and the street dept or whomever is in charge of snow removal is inept.
You need to realize we have SNOW plows.
What we have on the road is ICE
We do now have ICE plows
I have seen plows all over the place but all they can do is move around the little loose stuff on the top.
Quote from: tigerlily on February 05, 2011, 01:17:29 PM
Why are there NO city plows on the streets today trying to clear the rest of the streets of snow. 51st st going East to west and back is horrible and the intersection at 51st and Yale is a joke. There is still a city bus stuck on the side of the street on 51st st. I know that this was a record snowstorm but this is ridiculous and the street dept or whomever is in charge of snow removal is inept.
Then why don't you get out there with a snowcat and do some removing?
This isn't Minnesota. This is a once in 100 year snowfall I'm guessing. Some southern cities have exactly zero snowplows. Jeesh. I hear Broken Arrow handled it even worse.
Whatever!! I am just stating my frustration so lighten up
Quote from: sgrizzle on February 05, 2011, 02:40:25 PM
You need to realize we have SNOW plows.
What we have on the road is ICE
We do now have ICE plows
I have seen plows all over the place but all they can do is move around the little loose stuff on the top.
A couple of years ago the city used road graders to tear up the ice. Watched them go up and down Memorial and 21st and were able to break it, but it was hard on curbs and things.
FYI (and marginally topical), a water main break at St John Medical Center has caused them to close the ER to all but the most dire emergencies. They are diverting people to the MECs.
Quote from: tigerlily on February 05, 2011, 03:02:06 PM
Whatever!! I am just stating my frustration so lighten up
Who's the one that needs to lighten up?....
::)
They are plowing the residential streets in Owasso today. My sister in law called me earlier today cussing up a storm (good thing she's a church elder) because by plowing the streets they mounded up a foot and a half of snow and ice in front of her drive way that she had cleared.
She was going out to dig it out again. I would have offered to help but the OSU/ou basketball game was on, she's lucky I even answered the phone to let her vent.
The plows are not out because the drivers don't want to get hit by idiots that have no clue on how to drive in the snow. It should be part of Tulsa drivers' training to go to Denver or Chicago and drive there for a week before they are allowed to drive when there is snow and ice on our streets.
Thank goodness this sort of storm is rare.
Just saw on Channel two news that the plows were out in Tulsa and Jenks too today.
They had a spot with Mayor Bartlett riding around with a plow driver today. They were in East Tulsa.
The Tulsa World is reporting they are working on plowing the streets downtown this weekend too.
It was mentioned abandoned cars is still a problem with getting the streets cleared.
Handy tip if you're like me and have a light-duty plastic snow shovel that develops nasty cracks and nearly breaks in half: Use acetone to weld the plastic back together. It really works. Nail polish remover would probably work, but I went to Lowe's and bought some Oatey PVC/CPVC/ABS cleaner from the plumbing department.
Run the cleaner up and down both sides of the crack, then use some duct tape or whatever's handy to apply pressure and let it sit for a couple of hours.
I'd rather have a new snow shovel, but that seems not to be an option at the present time. ;)
I have been out a couple of times today, and I've seen more than a few snow plows out. Add onto that a lot of the primary streets have been pretty well cleared at least one lane.
Quote from: custosnox on February 05, 2011, 06:43:33 PM
I have been out a couple of times today, and I've seen more than a few snow plows out. Add onto that a lot of the primary streets have been pretty well cleared at least one lane.
Same - I saw a lot of plows out today. Traffic was crazy on most streets in midtown. I guess everyone got the fever to drive when some blacktop started peeking through the ice.
Quote from: DTowner on February 05, 2011, 07:39:44 PM
Same - I saw a lot of plows out today. Traffic was crazy on most streets in midtown. I guess everyone got the fever to drive when some blacktop started peeking through the ice.
This morning around 8 it was pretty quiet, but come noontime traffic was pretty heavy, but nothing like it was on Thursday evening and Friday!
Went to the store this afternoon to pick up a pepper and an onion (amazing what was hard to find a yesterday), and Reasor's was packed.
Quote from: unreliablesource on February 05, 2011, 05:31:08 PM
Just saw on Channel two news that the plows were out in Tulsa and Jenks too today.
They had a spot with Mayor Bartlett riding around with a plow driver today. They were in East Tulsa.
The Tulsa World is reporting they are working on plowing the streets downtown this weekend too.
It was mentioned abandoned cars is still a problem with getting the streets cleared.
Oh good, if Bartlett is in charge of plowing that means it will be cleared overnight.. or 3 weeks from now. It's all the same, right?
I was on the Riverparks trail on Saturday afternoon (which had been cleared and Riverside had not been cleared). As I was running several plows cleared Riverside drive and spewed the slush all over the trails...including the many people who were using the trails. It looked very cold and uncomfortable...glad I saw them coming and got out of the way. :D
Quote from: carltonplace on February 07, 2011, 12:45:44 PM
I was on the Riverparks trail on Saturday afternoon (which had been cleared and Riverside had not been cleared). As I was running several plows cleared Riverside drive and spewed the slush all over the trails...including the many people who were using the trails. It looked very cold and uncomfortable...glad I saw them coming and got out of the way. :D
I had noticed the clear trails as I was cruising down the Riverside Ice Drive. Made me wonder who cleared em.
Quote from: sgrizzle on February 07, 2011, 09:35:16 AM
Oh good, if Bartlett is in charge of plowing that means it will be cleared overnight.. or 3 weeks from now. It's all the same, right?
I think he was eating a bowl of Ike's Chili too.
Personally I think we are pretty fortunate, and that city officials are trying to do all they can to make the situation we're in weather wise as tolerable as possible. There is only so much clearing that can be done in a day. My street is still snow packed/iced but at least they were able to clear most of the main roads last week.
Not a fan of Barlett, and I understand a storm of this size has never hit Tulsa, but why did he wait so long to contact the local construction companies to contract them out and use their equipment? Shouldnt Bartlett, his chief of staff, or someone who gets paid the kind of money they do, suggest this sooner then they did?
Quote from: TUalum0982 on February 13, 2011, 02:47:21 PM
Not a fan of Barlett, and I understand a storm of this size has never hit Tulsa, but why did he wait so long to contact the local construction companies to contract them out and use their equipment? Shouldnt Bartlett, his chief of staff, or someone who gets paid the kind of money they do, suggest this sooner then they did?
Contractors do not work for free. Tulsa is not flush with money.
Quote from: Red Arrow on February 13, 2011, 02:53:34 PM
Contractors do not work for free. Tulsa is not flush with money.
so whats the point of waiting a week to do a weeks worth of work? I mean lets say they started on Wed Feb 2nd and worked until Wed Feb 9th. A week is still a week, is it not? I dont recall the exact date of when they had this genious idea of calling in contractors, but I know it wasnt immediately after the storm. I believe it was this past Sun or Mon? Correct me if I am wrong though.
It wasnt like they were guaranteed a certaina amount of money, or days to do the job. It just seems like it could have been handled better then it was. As for Christiansen liking this to Katrina, what an idiot. This was nowhere near Katrina. Please Christiasen, dont run for re election.
Quote from: TUalum0982 on February 13, 2011, 02:59:51 PM
As for Christiansen liking this to Katrina, what an idiot. This was nowhere near Katrina. Please Christiasen, dont run for re election.
But New Orleans was ready this time... http://www.theonion.com/video/fema-rushes-supplies-to-new-orleans-in-anticipatio,18982/
I'm sure the construction companies earned their snow removal money in some ways, but a significant amount of what they did was wasteful and not necessary. Spending hours doing what amounted to touchup work on the outside lanes of unnecessarily wide downtown streets a day or two before mother nature would've done it for them was not the best use of money.
TUalum, did you forget that we had several rounds of snow, not just one big snowfall?
Quote from: nathanm on February 13, 2011, 09:49:28 PM
TUalum, did you forget that we had several rounds of snow, not just one big snowfall?
no I didnt forget at all, I was out working in it, staying at the hilton by the airport just so I could make it into work (yeah I am that important (sarcasm)). Through my eyes, it just appears that once the city realized they were overwhelmed, then they felt it necessary to call in the local construction companies. Yes they can say we receive another 4-6 inches of snow on Fri Feb 4th, but lets be honest, not much of it actually stuck to the roads. Again, I am not saying CoT did a horrible job, myself, along with many included think it could have been handled alot differently and they could have been called in earlier to help out.
An example, Sat Feb 5th driving down Sheridan around 1300, there was not even a single lane cleared. It was all snow packed, and you were forced to drive 15-20mph unless you wanted to immediately head to a repair shop for an alignment. That is 4 days after the storm hit. And again, I understand it was super cold, but 4 days later and a majority of the arterial streets are still snowpacked without a lane cleared and you must drive 15-20mph hr? Things could have, and should have been handled differently.
My mother said a crew with several dump trucks, bobcats, and front end loaders showed up on her street. They proceeded to create a massive and dangerous pile of snow on her street corner. They never loaded anything into the trucks. She was trying to figure out what the trucks were for unless the truck drivers were trying to get some overtime. That was part of what we were told the city was going to do was actually haul away a large portion of the snow on important feeder streets throughout neighborhoods. In my 'hood, they simply plowed Darlington from 21st to 31st and left it mounded on the sides where side walks will be unusable for another week or so. That wouldn't be such a big deal other than kids and parents who use those sidewalks to get to Hoover Elementary and back.
Quote from: TUalum0982 on February 14, 2011, 05:49:52 AM
An example, Sat Feb 5th driving down Sheridan around 1300, there was not even a single lane cleared. It was all snow packed, and you were forced to drive 15-20mph unless you wanted to immediately head to a repair shop for an alignment. That is 4 days after the storm hit. And again, I understand it was super cold, but 4 days later and a majority of the arterial streets are still snowpacked without a lane cleared and you must drive 15-20mph hr? Things could have, and should have been handled differently.
As I was saying earlier, they could have fully cleared some streets and left others untouched, or they could have plowed once to pack down the snow and make it passable to most people and make more roads passable without high clearance 4wd vehicles and snow chains. Basically, you want the city to have cleared the roads you drive on and left everybody else high and dry. Either that or miraculously have three times the plows.
In snowier climes, people drive on packed snow for half the year. You too can do it. I did. No problem. And my alignment is still fine.
Also, I take issue with "4 days after the storm hit." 4 days after the first dumping, 2 days after the second, which was 6 freaking inches, which we normally consider to be a pretty hefty amount of snow, and a couple of days before the third which brought another five. (would have been four storms, but one didn't materialize for us, it went farther south)
Quote from: nathanm on February 14, 2011, 10:48:13 AM
In snowier climes, people drive on packed snow for half the year. You too can do it. I did. No problem. And my alignment is still fine.
Packed snow is fine. Memorial between the Creek Tpk and just south of 111th was like a washboard after the first dumping. If you tried to go faster than about 15 mph you would be heading for the alignment shop to get new shocks and an alignment. It was actually better after the next snow.
Quote from: nathanm on February 14, 2011, 10:48:13 AM
As I was saying earlier, they could have fully cleared some streets and left others untouched, or they could have plowed once to pack down the snow and make it passable to most people and make more roads passable without high clearance 4wd vehicles and snow chains. Basically, you want the city to have cleared the roads you drive on and left everybody else high and dry. Either that or miraculously have three times the plows.
In snowier climes, people drive on packed snow for half the year. You too can do it. I did. No problem. And my alignment is still fine.
Also, I take issue with "4 days after the storm hit." 4 days after the first dumping, 2 days after the second, which was 6 freaking inches, which we normally consider to be a pretty hefty amount of snow, and a couple of days before the third which brought another five. (would have been four storms, but one didn't materialize for us, it went farther south)
Since Feb 2nd, I have driven over 1100 miles, one trip to OKC, but mainly around Tulsa. It wasnt only Sheridan that was bad, it was every single arterial street. Again, I know this was a storm we have never seen before. My MAIN and ONLY point is that I think Mayor Bartlett could have realized ALOT earlier that the CoT was overwhelmed, could have, and should have called in the local construction companies sooner then they did.
Packed snow is fine to drive on, like this past wed that dumped however much it dumped. But when a majority of the city streets are washboards, thats unacceptable given the amount of time they had to clear them.
Good news! The city hopes to have all of the snow cleared by Saturday!
Quote from: Gaspar on February 14, 2011, 03:23:45 PM
Good news! The city hopes to have all of the snow cleared by Saturday!
Wow thats great. Then they can start on the new pot holes they created.