Dateline: December 21, 2014 (official Winter Soltice)

The City of Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Why or why does the Street Maintenance Department keep making the same mistakes and operate like we are living in the 20th Century?!?

In addition to human health and safety, practical improvements can be made immediately to improve snow and ice removal on Glenwood Springs’ roads and walkways. I am miffed that NO effort was made to plow the River Walk between the Roaring Fork River and Doc Holliday’s grave.

To describe the pedestrian walking conditions within the City of Glenwood Springs as treacherous would be an understatement. Folks who have lived through many winters here have told me that snow removal has never been better in town and often is terrible.

Item #6:

I would like to mention concern about the quality of the surface waters passing through town. The routine practice of spreading large amounts of salt and silt on city roads jeopardizes the Colorado River, which supplies drinking water source for as far as Southern California.

This is nothing new but there are more environmentally-friendly ‘ice melt’ products readily available: Blue or green ice melt mixtures. Just take a look at what one property owner used along the 1000 block of Grand Avenue on the first afternoon of last week’s snow storm.

Much like Nevada and California do around Lake Tahoe, our city should adopt some of their ice and snow removal procedures (use of non-contaminated dirt and salt-alternatives) to facilitate the water quality, clarity, and non-hazardous conditions of the Colorado River.

Item #7:

By monitoring weather forecasts, the Street Department can better manage getting plows out at the first sign of snow, avoid driving idle (plow not lowered while driving), not creating melting snow conditions into water that can freeze late in the afternoon and at night (leaving more difficult ice removal and driving and walking hazards the next morning, particularly during commute hours)

No sympathies are being solicited but perhaps you have some empathy for this writer because he is disabled with no benefits from RFTA’s Traveler transport services.

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