Following the worst Treasure Valley winter in a generation, the Ada County Highway District says it's shifting things around by putting residential streets on its snow plowing priority list.
Last winter, the bitterly cold season dropped over 35 inches of snow on the region in December and January causing headaches and a slew of fender benders.
In response to the snowy streets that plagued motorists, ACHD purchased 11 more plows to attach to trucks and put almost a quarter of a million dollars towards increasing the number of plows it can call up in a serious weather event, according to the Statesman.
Residential streets are going to join the plowing priority list below things like arterial roads, bridges and areas around hospitals.
“We’re pleased that ACHD has stepped forward and is working to do this,” says Boise city spokesman Mike Journee.
“The fact that the ACHD’s board is paying attention to this situation shows, I think, that people recognized it was a challenge and that, absent having control over the streets of the City of Boise, this is a good step forward, and we hope that it’s effective if we find ourselves in a similar situation,” Journee says.
As many Treasure Valley residents know, Ada County is the only county in the nation to have total control over the roadways not managed by the state or federal governments.
The City of Boise says it’s also enacting a snow-removal plan. Part of that includes tapping Parks and Rec staff to clear downtown sidewalks
“You know, if it becomes a situation like we saw last year where we do have to deploy some manpower to clear things away, we’ll do exactly like we did and deploy that through the Parks and Rec Department,” according to Journee.
Leaders in nearby Meridian are planning to meet with school district officials and ACHD to come up with their own snow plans ahead of winter.
For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915
Copyright 2017 Boise State Public Radio