UPDATE Posted Tuesday, December 29, 2009 -- 4:45pm
By Zac Schultz

Madison: The snowstorm of December 8th and 9th was one of the worst we've seen in a generation. It shut down the city for a day and a half, and then brought gridlock when people tried to drive streets that had turned to rutted ice.

State Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) drove from West Bend to the Capitol that Thursday. He says his trip was fine until Highway 151 turned into East Washington Avenue. "It took me two hours to get six miles."

Grothman is not alone in complaining about the road conditions. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz ordered a top to bottom review after the storm. "The outcome was not something that was acceptable to the mayor, and clearly not acceptable to many of our residents," says Mario Mendoza, Asst. to the Mayor.

But Grothman says this was not an isolated incident. "I cannot let them get away with saying it was a big snowstorm. Sure it was a big snowstorm. But it happens all the time."

Sen. Grothman says Madison doesn't use enough salt. His proposal would change that. "It would allow the Department of Transportation to dictate the amount of salt. Right now the standards in Madison call for only about using half as much salt per lane as other counties and cities around the state."

"Clearly, it's not something that we support," says Mendoza. He says the city started reducing salt levels back in the 1970's

With the Democrats in control of the legislature, this bill really has no shot at becoming law. But Sen. Grothman says it's a conversation worth having. "If the bill does not pass, hopefully it will at least put a spark under the Madison City Council."

"We're already taking some steps to make sure we perform better the next time we have a storm of the sort that we had earlier this month," says Mendoza.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATED Tuesday, December 29, 2009 --- 9:00 a.m.

Press Release from Senator Glenn Grothman:

Madison: Today, Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) announced he plans to introduce legislation giving the Wisconsin Department of Transportation authority for setting standards for salting and snow removal on Madison’s main arterials. All other cities, villages, and towns around the state will continue to set their own standards.

The City’s review of Madison snow policies, released on Christmas Eve, for minimal public discussion, shows the state must get involved. So does Council President Pro Tem Mark Clear’s reference to changing climate patterns. While the snow storm of the 9th and 10th was somewhat unique, the experience of this State Legislator of having impassible roads in Madison while having much better roads as soon as you get outside the Madison city limits or other cities such as West Bend or Milwaukee is not unique. Only a small percentage of Madison streets are main arterials and the extreme aversion to using salt on them must stop.

“The State of Wisconsin has chosen Madison as its State Capitol and home to its largest university. It is the responsibility of the City to maintain its roads in winter -- something they’ve shown they cannot do,” said Grothman. “During the first big snowstorm of the year, it took more than one and one-half hours to travel the six miles on Highway 151 (East Washington Avenue) from the city limits to the Capitol. In all my years as a legislator, I’ve repeatedly noticed the roads are a mess on Highway 151 south of the Interstate and are clear as soon as Dane County takes over north of the ‘I.’”

“This is what happens when you have a city with politicians whose base is people who walk to their job at the co-op,” said Grothman. “They become incapable of handling their responsibilities to the State as a whole. I want to emphasize this bill will not force the City to put salt on places like Mifflin or Spaight Streets, just the main arterials.”

A quick review of other cities around the state finds the norm of 300 pounds of salt for one lane of one mile of highway. Madison uses only 150 pounds – one quick example of why Madison roads seem to be the most impassable in the state each winter. For the approximately nine million dollars the State gives the City as payment in lieu of property taxes each year, the City should allow drivers to get through to the State’s buildings.

_____________________________________

UPDATED Thursday, December 24, 2009 --- 9:52 a.m.

From the Mayor's Office:

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz today released a report on the City’s snow policies. The mayor ordered the analysis after the conditions on Madison’s arterial streets resulting from the severe storm of December 8 and 9.

“Everyone involved in managing a winter storm -- from the frontline workers to the managers to me -- works hard and works intelligently,” Mayor Cieslewicz said. “But even the best organizations come in for criticism. The test of any strong organization is how well it responds to that criticism. We did some things very well in the last storm, but the condition of our arterial streets wasn’t good enough. So the answer is to learn from the experience and plot a course for improvement. That’s what we have done here.”

“Changing technology and changing climate patterns mean we must always be asking how we can do things better and using the best data available to help drive our decisions,” Council President Pro Tem Mark Clear said. “I look forward to exploring further ideas that will result from more in-depth research called for in the report.”

The analysis was conducted by the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Janet Piraino, in consultation with city staff and managers from Streets, Metro, Parks and Engineering, Alder Clear and union leadership.

Highlights of the report include:

*A review of current city plowing, salting and parking regulations
*Analysis of the challenges and city operations during the December 8 & 9 storm
*Recommendations for short and long term improvement to city snow operations

“I want to thank Ald. Clear and all the members of the snow policy review group for their hard work and long hours to meet my short deadline,” Mayor Cieslewicz said. “I especially want to thank Streets Superintendent Al Schumacher and my Chief of Staff, Janet Piraino, for their leadership and good work.”

The full report is attached to this story. Just click, "Madison Snow Response Report" under the headline at the top of the story.

_____________________________________

UPDATED Wednesday, December 16, 2009 --- 11:25 a.m.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has ordered a review of the snow plowing after last week's major snowstorm.

Last Wednesday, the mayor decided to try and clear the side streets instead of just focusing on the main roads.

He says the main streets were good enough for emergency vehicles to get through while the residential streets were still clogged.

But, the next few days many of the streets were iced over, which led to numerous complaints and accidents.

The mayor wants to review their procedures before they face another major storm.

Cieslewicz has asked for a preliminary report by Christmas eve.

_____________________________________

UPDATED Tuesday, December 15, 2009 --- 12:08 p.m.

The office of Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz tells NBC15 News that the mayor has ordered a review of the snow plowing after last week's snowstorm.

Meetings on the review are planned for today.

We plan to speak with the mayor on the issue. Stay with NBC15 and www.nbc15.com for the latest information.

_____________________________________

Posted Saturday, December 12, 2009 --- 4:45 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is apologizing for the decisions he made during a massive snowstorm that left major city streets iced over and led to numerous complaints.

The mayor told the Wisconsin State Journal on Friday he understood the frustration and accepted responsibility for the slick streets and rutted roads in the aftermath of the sixth largest two-day snowfall in 60 years.

Madison police say there were no traffic incidents that resulted in serious injury, but police logged 263 accident calls from Tuesday through Friday morning. That's two times as many as police received the previous 72 hours before the storm.

More than 14.1 inches of snow fell, and frigid temperatures after the storm made salting ineffective.

Information from:
Wisconsin State Journal
http://www.madison.com/wsj

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.