Councilors applaud city workers for snowstorm response, ask for continued patience from residents

After a snow-packed January that left Waltham buried under nearly three feet of snow, the City Council this week took time to pass a resolution thanking the city’s first responders and public works crews for keeping roads clear and residents safe through the Jan. 25 storm.

“Employees performed long hours, overnight shifts, and physically demanding work in freezing temperatures to protect the well-being of Waltham residents,” the resolution reads. 

“Snow removal and post-storm cleanup operations require continued effort beyond the initial response, including widening roadways, clearing catch basins, removing snowbanks, and addressing remaining icy or obstructed areas,” it continues.

City workers themselves have encountered difficulties in clearing city streets in the past few weeks, with one city snowplow getting stuck in a ditch after last week’s snowfall.

The council voted to distribute copies of the resolution to the mayor’s office and to all departments named in its text.

Ward 8 Councilor Cathyann Harris specifically called out Sara Kelly, a code enforcement officer for the CPW, for her work coordinating the city’s responses to public reports of unshovelled sidewalks.

Councilor-at-Large Carlos Vidal said that every time he has passed on constituents’ requests over the past week about areas blocked by snow, the public works department has moved quickly to address them. “That’s how tax dollars are supposed to work: delivering essential services when they’re needed most,” he said.

Vidal tied the resolution to a request the CPW made this week through Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy for $2.5 million in winter storm response funding. This funding will cover the costs of snow removal that the department has incurred so far this winter and that it projects it will need in the immediate future. 

Vidal said it was important to group the two items together to celebrate city workers for their work removing snow while acknowledging “the real cost of doing it right.”

The resolution also contained a line acknowledging residents’ concerns and frustrations as they navigate routes that remain blocked by snow and ice, asking residents and businesses for “continued patience and cooperation” as the CPW continues to clear public ways.

In the weeks after the storm, residents raised concerns over social media sites such as Reddit and Facebook about sidewalks that remained blocked by snowbanks, including areas near Waltham’s schools where snow coverage has prevented children from using sidewalks. One pedestrian was struck by a vehicle last week while walking on a road to avoid a sidewalk that was blocked by snow.