By Nora Kowalczyk
BUFFALO — With snow in the forecast for this week, Buffalo’s Public Works commissioner told the Common Council that the city has 44 pieces of snow-fighting equipment and more than 3,000 tons of salt on hand, and that the equipment is “ready to go.” The briefing came at a Community Development Committee meeting last week, WGRZ reported and the numbers give a public count of what the city will have on the street before the first big storm.
What the count does not show is how much of that fleet is new, how many drivers are available, or how long it will take to reach the 200 miles of narrow side streets that have been hardest to clear in past winters. Here is what the city has said, what it has bought, and what residents can do.
What is in the fleet
DPW Commissioner Nolan Skipper said the 44 pieces of equipment include 22 full-size plows, 12 high lifts with plow attachments, seven tractors with snowblower attachments, and pickup and small dump trucks with a plow and a spreader. “We also have over 3,000 tons of salt on hand and available, ready to go,” Mr. Skipper told the council, according to WGRZ.
The city has contracts to acquire another 25,000 tons of salt through the winter if needed. The administration’s Oct. 22 snow plan announcement says the city set up two purchase agreements for at least 25,000 tons and is pursuing a third “to reduce the risk of supply disruptions.”
The budget for outside help is larger this year. The city budgeted $2.7 million for contracted snow removal, up $2.12 million from the $580,000 in last year’s plan, to pay for front-end loaders and dump trucks that haul away snow when it piles up beyond what plows can clear, according to the city. “So, if we do have those big weather events, we’ll be ready with that budget,” Mr. Skipper said.
New equipment for side streets
The tractors are aimed at the city’s side streets. Mayor Sean Ryan and DPW showed one off last week, and Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported that the city estimates about 200 miles of its roads are narrow streets, dead ends or streets with medians, which have been among the hardest to clear after storms. The station and WGRZ counted seven tractors; the city’s written announcement said five had been purchased. The Chronicle is asking the city to reconcile the numbers.
“We’ve long said get us the equipment, get us a space to live in, have us in better conditions, and we’ll perform,” Mr. Skipper said at that event, according to BTPM. “This is a huge investment to put real equipment in the streets when the snow is hitting, and not be days behind on the side streets.” Mr. Ryan framed it as a basic service. “What could be more basic in the city of Buffalo than clearing your streets and snow plowing?” he said. “We want Buffalo schools to be open on snowy days and not have the schools to say we have to close because we can’t get our buses down the street.”
The plan keeps a standing goal of at least one plow pass on every residential street within 24 hours after a storm ends, with primary and secondary streets, bus routes and emergency-facility access cleared first. The city says continuing snowfall, extreme conditions and vehicles blocking streets can push that back. The city is also rebuilding its plow fleet, with 10 new vehicles on order, six of which could arrive in the second half of winter, and a longer-term goal of 34 dual-axle trucks on a five-year replacement cycle.
Warnings, and who is in charge in a big storm
Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp told the council that the city is pushing residents to sign up for its Buff-Alert messages, and that for severe storms it has a system that cuts through. “What we’ve learned is, all of us probably watch the news, read the paper, but tons of folks don’t, right?” he said. “And so that’s why other systems are so important. So we always push the Buff-Alert, and we did a lot of Buff-Alerts last season.”
For the worst storms, he said, the city can use the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, which “takes over your cell phone,” the television and radio, and “works like an Amber Alert, basically.” Residents can sign up for Buff-Alert by texting their ZIP code to 38276 or by visiting buffalony.gov/buffalert, the city said.
Council member David Rivera, the Niagara District representative, asked who would be in charge during a severe storm, a question that came under scrutiny after the 2022 Christmas blizzard, WGRZ reported. Mr. Swanekamp said he and Emergency Coordinator Thomas Luby handle coordination. If the National Weather Service declares an extreme storm, the city would be split into three zones, he said.
“The county takes responsibility for clearing the area south of Broadway,” Mr. Swanekamp said. “We take responsibility for north of Broadway, east of Main Street, and DOT takes responsibility for north of Broadway, west of Main Street.” The plan, he said, is being rehearsed. “We just did a huge joint training, actually,” he said. “The Weather Service brought together nearly all the emergency managers from the region to plan for this year.”
Other changes in the plan
The Oct. 22 plan lists several other changes: a new GPS mapping system for DPW staff and an upgraded public map showing when city crews last cleared individual streets, with lane-by-lane detail; added Parking Department staff and tow trucks, and a button that lets plow drivers immediately report blocked streets; plowing of protected bike lanes and off-street paths after residential streets; and daily operational briefings that let the Emergency Operations Center activate before a formal emergency declaration. The city is also testing plow blade edges like those used by Erie County, BTPM reported.
What to watch
“I think we’re in very strong shape as far as coordination goes,” Mr. Swanekamp told the committee. The test will be the first storm that closes a school day or strands a bus route. WGRZ reported that council members did not press the administration hard at the hearing, so the public record of how the plan performs will come from the first plowing reports and the city’s own tracking map. The city’s plan promises an upgraded public map showing when crews last cleared each street.
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