SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah greets the first few snowfalls of the season, cities are working to keep the streets clear.

With hopes for better snow removal and safer streets for residents, Salt Lake City will begin a snow removal operations pilot program in 2015.

Tara Olson, project analyst for Salt Lake City Public Services, said the program will study a new approach to remove snow to the curb on nine streets.

Olson said alerts will go out to residents via phone calls, text messages and emails the day before snow removal.

If the alert is issued on an even-numbered day, residents will need to park on the side of the street with even house numbers.

Olson said snowplows will plow streets to the curb between 1 a.m and 6 a.m. the next day, then residents will be free to park on either side of the street.

Streets involved

Streets included in the study from east to west will be 200 South from State Street to University Street, Third Avenue from Canyon Road to Virginia Street, 800 South/Indiana Avenue from Redwood Road to 1300 East, 900 South from 1300 East to Foothill Drive, and 2700 South from Highland Drive to 2200 East.

Streets north to south included in the study will be 500 East from 800 South to 2100 South, 200 West from 750 North to 900 South, 900 West from North Temple to 1000 North, and 1200 West from 300 North to Reclamation Road.

Olson said the city has monitored the amount of snow that collects on the curbs and freezes, as well as various complaints and safety concerns from residents about the buildup.

"Removing these mounds has proven to be difficult because of the amount of cars that are parked on the street," Olson said.

Residents' reaction mixed

Derek Walker, who manages an apartment complex on 200 South and 15 others in the area, is skeptical of the plan.

"That would not work for this particular area because this building is an apartment complex and (200 South) is the dedicated parking for it," Walker said of the pilot program.

The apartment has 16 units, which could potentially double the number of cars there, Walker said. He worries his residents won't know where to park or will be concerned about parking fines.

"Basically, in this downtown area, I see nothing but problems about taking the public parking that's on the street," he said. "But at the same time, I mean, snow removal is a vital thing. … Both have to be done."

Olson said no parking tickets will be issued for parking the street during heavy snow days. Instead, she said, the city is more interested in educating residents by leaving warnings and more information about the program.

Barton Gonzales helps a few friends on Third Avenue shovel their sidewalks and curbs in the winter. He said he's been waiting for something like the program for years.

"This is impossible to work with every year, digging all this stuff out," Gonzales said as he shovels the snow away from the curb. "People park out here, all the snow's left, then you get the ice buildup and nothing gets cleaned."

In other cities such as Kaysville, some residents had trouble with the amount of snow despite the best efforts of city snowplow drivers.

"I think they just do the best they can," Brian Nash said. "They go around whatever is left out, and then we get to clean up what's left."

Larry Mills, public works superintendent for Kaysville, said his crews began plowing snow at 9:30 p.m. Sunday and would continue their work until about 5 p.m. Monday evening.

"Our procedure is that we plow the main roads first and then we work on the secondary roads second," he said. "Cul de sacs are the last streets that we plow."

Mills said the city gets complaints each year that their streets aren't plowed.

"We can only do so much," he said.

Kaysville has 13 drivers with 13 trucks to clear more than 120 miles of road.

"We do what we can do," Mills said.

Curtis Randall has been one of those drivers for 10 years. He said residents can help snowplow drivers to keep the roads clearer by following the plows instead of pulling in front of them.

"(Drivers) are better off behind us than in front of us," he said. "Give yourself some time to get to work."

Randall said it is also very helpful for residents to clear the road as much as possible by not parking on the street and pulling in garbage cans.

"It just makes for a harder job," he said. "We have to go out and around, and then you have garbage day on top of that. It just makes it a rough time."

Contributing: Nkoyo Iyamba

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