The city of Manitou Springs wants residents, business owners and visitors to know more about Public Works operations before, during and after snowstorms. Eric Karlson, streets and stormwater supervisor for the past five years, broke away from preparing for the Feb. 16-17 inclement weather to answer a few questions.
“I supervise a crew of five staff across our streets and stormwater divisions. Among the six of us, we maintain, clean and repair our streets and sidewalks, as well as our stormwater drainage infrastructure,” he said.
“There are days I wish we had double the staff, especially during snow events.”
Emergency services and vehicular safety are the top priority for staffers. Dire consequences can result if ambulances, police vehicles and fire trucks are delayed in responding to emergencies.
“It may appear as simple as just removing the snow, ice, and then cleaning up the sand, but a lot of thought and dedication goes into the process to ensure safety for everyone,” the city stated in a press release.
The process, which takes at least six days, starts with staffers monitoring weather forecasts from various sources so that Karlson can determine when to prepare the equipment and start planning staff schedules. The latter task can be especially complicated, since commercial driver’s licenses require that drivers never work more than 10 hours at a time before taking eight hours off.
“The most stress I experience in this position is planning and preparing for a snow event,” Karlson said.
“We usually have to ask for help from Parks and Rec, as well as Parking, to help cover duties in the winter months. Also, the erratic, and sometimes inaccurate, weather forecasts over the past few years make it difficult to plan effectively.”
There are days I wish we had double the staff. – Eric Karlson
Karlson and the other staffers have to inspect snowplows and equipment do general maintenance and fill dispensers with liquid de-icers, salt and sand.
As the snowstorm arrives, city staff determines the best time to drop liquid magnesium chloride on main emergency routes. Plow drivers focus on the main part of roads, pushing snow and ice toward curbs and parking spaces.
With the snow accumulating, they begin dropping salt, sand or liquid salt brine to break up the snow and ice. This will continue as needed until the storm ends.
When it lets up, staffers concentrate on removing ice and snow to reduce safety issues. That can take several hours to a day or more, depending on the amount of snow and the number of vehicles they have to navigate around.
The debris is taken to the snow storage site on Higginbotham Flats, next to U.S. Highway 24. The city follows health and environmental guidelines, which identified that as the best location in the Manitou Springs area.
When that’s done, staffers continue mitigating sidewalks, trails, parking lots and streets to “reduce stormwater contamination, melting and refreezing, and general safety concerns,” according to the press release.
Residents and business owners can use the SeeClickFix app to request work on shady spots or areas that were missed. That’s available at ManitouSpringsGov.com/SeeClickFix.
“Over the past few years, the weather seems more extreme at times and temperatures are all over the place. This causes flash-freezing and we must schedule for that every morning and during the night, further stretching thin our limited staff as we still have other duties that need our attention unrelated to snow,” the press release stated.
The city has one sand-sweeping truck, which works every day to clear streets, and contracts for another sweeper twice a week. The main roads require several passes.
With 176 named streets in Manitou, some steep and narrow, it takes a while to reach all of them, especially since the sweepers go only 5 to 10 miles per hour and have to refill with water every couple of hours.
In addition to clearing the sand, the crew works on cleaning bike lanes while also catching up on duties that were neglected during the storm. That entails vehicle inspections and repairs, emptying and cleaning the sanders and liquid de-icers, which are very corrosive, and cleaning city vehicles.
They also refill supplies of salt, sand, brine and magnesium chloride for the next storm.
“Lately, snowstorms have been fierce and weekly. We now plan for our next storm and start this process all over again due to how weather events have been overlapping,” the release stated.
Despite the challenging physical and mental demands, Karlson said he enjoys that every day “has a new challenge to overcome.” He loves working outside, and had a similar position in Woodland Park before joining Manitou’s crew.
“Nothing is more beautiful than seeing the snow-covered peaks, and knowing I help keep our streets safe for residents and visitors,” he said.
Karlson urged residents to watch for information about the 2024 Citizens Academy the city presents.
“It gives the public a great opportunity to learn about the inner workings of your local government, including going in-depth about street maintenance,” he said.
He couldn’t resist a “shameless plug” for the Great American Cleanup, scheduled for Saturday, April 27, and the Creek Walk Cleanup in the fall.
“If you want to help keep our community clean, you are more than welcome to join us for these upcoming events,” he said.