BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Thursday's snow storm threw Burlington's Public Works Department right in to the deep end before they even had the chance to practice cleanup from a smaller system. This was the first big snow storm they've seen in some 20 months and while clearing it has been a little slow good progress is still being made.
"It's done fairly quickly but not instantaneously," Public Works Director Steve Goodkind said.
More than a foot of snow in downtown Burlington has put Goodkind's crew to hard work clearing streets and sidewalks over the past two days.
"A lot of the sidewalks are shaded. A lot of the snow banks shade the sidewalk where as they don't really shade the street so it's just a different animal. To do it right it takes constant effort," Goodkind said.
That's why public works crews were still clearing walkways today. Because of that sidewalks at intersections can get a bit clogged and pose a challenge to some pedestrians like those on wheels.
"With the stroller it's not always easy but its nice," Max Deschesues said while walking his three month old baby.
"If you walk on it it shouldn't be much trouble. It could be a problem if someone's trying to push a baby carriage or stroller," Goodkind said.
"I've seen a little bit of buildup but ere always seems to be a side access you can get through," Gary Griffin said while taking a walk with his family and infant who was enjoying the ride from her stroller.
While many sidewalks were completely cleared, some still had a little layer of snow while others have hardly been touched. Public Works is hoping to finish up by Saturday morning.
But expect the snow banks to be around for a while after the city decided to stop trucking away snow from side walks and parking meters a couple years back.
"It's expensive, it's very slow and usually when we do it half the city never gets done," Goodkind said.
