FABB Blog

 

Arlington allocates $300,000 to clearing snow from bike facilities

We've been told that Arlington County recently allocated over $300,000 to remove snow from trails in the county. This comes on the heels of NVRPA plowing the W&OD Trail for the first time this winter. Thanks to WABA and others for advocating for this funding, and thanks to Arlington for considering the needs of cyclists.

From an Arlington Co budget document:


The following information is provided in response to requests raised by bicycle advocacy groups regarding snow clearing on multi-use trails in Arlington.

Currently, the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) does not treat or plow bike and pedestrian trails as a priority service. The current DPR snow response time for clearing trails is typically two or three days after the snowfall stops on those trails denoted as Priority 1. DPR’s primary focus during and immediately after a snow event is to clear sidewalks and parking lots at the Libraries when they are open. If the storm starts and County facilities (including Libraries) are closed, DPR will gauge the response to have everything cleared when the building opens to the public and then address the clearing of trails.

With additional funds DPR could expand the service level on trails that would pre-treat trails before any storm, start clearing the trails throughout the snow fall, and post treat any areas that may refreeze post storm (with the same prioritization/response time currently given to primary (red) and secondary (blue) arterial streets). This service level could be met with a combination of ongoing and one-time funding.

• One-time funding of $227k for two pieces of snow removal equipment ($127k) and construction of an equipment storage facility ($100k). 
• Ongoing funding - DPR proposes to shift existing personnel and supply resources (salt and sand) from clearing Libraries parking lots and sidewalks to perform snow removal on trails. New ongoing funding would be necessary to contract out the snow removal at Libraries ($68,415) and for the annual expenses for the maintenance and replacement of the snow removal equipment ($14,700); the amount of ongoing funding totals $83,115. 
• Recommendation - To cover these costs in FY 2015, the County Manager recommends one-time funding of $309,900. 

Trails Snow Removal Proposal 
Toolcat 5600 (2)       $ 126,785
Storage Building      $ 100,000
Snow removal contract for Libraries      $ 68,415
Rental Book for equipment     $ 14,700
Total Request     $ 309,900 posted by Bruce Wright at 1:42 PM permalink