KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Some neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri, wouldn’t see blacktop until days after it stopped snowing. But city leaders have tweaked snow removal plans, and residents have noticed the difference.
Shana Skelton isn't used to having her street in south Kansas City plowed before breaking out the shovel.
"It looked like they'd been through this morning already, and the highways didn’t even look all that clear," Skelton said.
Most winters, Skelton says it'd be days before she and others in the White Oak neighborhood would see a plow, if at all.
"They never came through here," she said. "They’d go on 87th Street, but I don't ever remember them coming through here."
However, this year the city of KCMO invested in 50 new trucks and brought on 100 drivers to fuel an aggressive 24-hour snow removal strategy.
"Everyone is all in here in Kansas City. We got plenty of material, we got plenty of trucks," said Michael Shaw, KCMO public works director.
The updated plan adds overnight shifts to residential routes but suspends trash and recycling services so those drivers can hit streets like the one Ivan Ramirez lives on.
"For the fact that I'm safer in the street, then yeah, I can give up my trash being in my house for another day or two," Ramirez said.
While Ramirez's block is almost bone-dry, over at 56th and Park, homeowner Lee Criswell wouldn't mind if he didn't see a plow soon.
"Well with all of the cars up and down the block, if they push snow this evening, it's going to pile it up against all of these cars," Criswell said. "And the next morning, nobody will be able to get out or they will have a hard time shoveling trying to get out after the snow freezes overnight."
Business owners and homeowners are responsible for clearing their sidewalks, but the time required to complete the task varies around the metro—
- In Mission, Kansas, people are giventwo days after it stops snowing.
- In Prairie Village, it's one day.
- In KCMO, city law says it must be done "within a reasonable time." Failure to comply results in a fine of up to $100.
For anyone who would like to track snow operations in KCMO, click here.
