It took crews nearly a week to plow snow from many subdivisions after 10 inches of snow fell Dec. 19, and residents are likely to face similar waits all winter.
That’s the word from the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC), which fielded some 700 phone calls and several hundred emails from angry people, last week, as subdivision streets remained unplowed four days after the storm.
The situation made it difficult for residents to get out’and for emergency vehicles to get in.
‘Any subdivision calls, we send the four-wheel-drive down,? said Sgt. Paul Bidinger of Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Independence Township substation, noting the substation has one deputy assigned to a Chevy Tahoe. ‘He doesn’t have any problems.?
But, Bidinger said, the OCSO’s front-wheel-drive Chevy Impalas are less than ideal for negotiating unplowed roads.
‘You know how it is, driving in the snow,? he said ‘It’s no different in a police car. It can definitely slow response time and occasionally a deputy will get stuck out there.?
The situation was much the same in Springfield Township last week.
‘We’ve been running our four-wheel-drive instead of our regular rescue vehicle to keep from getting stuck,? said Charlie Oaks, township fire chief.
But, he said, problems still arise, as was the case when paramedics responded to a call at a home with a long, sloping driveway.
‘We couldn’t get (a vehicle) up the hill, so we had to take the stretcher and carry the guy down to the ambulance,? Oaks said. ‘It could definitely be a life threat. Anytime there’s a 911 call, you’re racing the clock as it is. The more you get held up, the less likely the outcome is going to be positive.?
But the RCOC’s safety-based road plowing priority system, representatives said, requires the agency to focus first on freeways and major roads before working down to low-speed, low-volume subdivision streets, and crews were working at full capacity to clear roads after the storm.
‘As a direct result of Michigan’s road funding crisis, and the fact that our revenues have been falling for two years after being flat for 10 years, we have not been able to replace employees who retire or leave,? said RCOC Highway Maintenance Department Director Darryl Heid in a statement last week. ‘That means the agency is down more than 40 employees. Of those, 21 are snowplow drivers.?
The agency, which has jurisdiction over subdivision roads in townships, but not cities and villages, has about 140 snowplow drivers on its payroll.
‘If the Michigan Legislature does not act soon to increase funding for roads,? Heid said, ‘the 2009 winter could be a lot worse, as our staff levels will continue to fall.?
While RCOC still has enough drivers to be fully staffed during the initial storm attack, it said subsequent shifts make the staffing shortfall noticeable.
‘We do not have enough drivers to get into the subdivisions as quickly as we would like,? said Craig Bryson, RCOC public information officer. ‘Once the first round of drivers has worked its 16-hour shift and must take a break, we no longer have enough drivers to be fully staffed during the second shift.?
Bryson said funding shortages are ‘extremely troubling.?
‘Safety is our number one priority, and a policy adopted by our board,? he said. ‘Unfortunately, the only alternative is to convince the state legislature to do something to increase road funding. In Michigan, we’ve been among the bottom nine states in the nation, per capita, for state and local road funding for more than 40 years. We all like our taxes to be as low as possible, but at some point, the impact is reduced services, and that’s what we’re seeing.?
In the meantime, Bryson said he encourages subdivisions to look into private contracting for snow removal.
‘We’ll still be there as soon as we can, but if they’re able to, that’s one way to get a higher level of service,? he said.
Road commissions do not directly receive property tax revenues, Bryson noted, but are funded through state gas tax and vehicle registration fee.
With people driving less and fewer vehicles sold, revenues from both sources are down.
‘Cities and villages maintain their own neighborhood streets, but they typically pay higher taxes,? he said. ‘We have townships, four days after the storm, that have not been plowed out, but if you go to most cities, you’ll find they were plowed within a day or two of the storm.?