WAYNESBORO - While the city of Staunton made downtown look like it hadn't snowed at all, Waynesboro struggled to keep up with plowing efforts.

Though most primary roads had been cleared by the Virginia Department of Transportation by Sunday, Waynesboro's main thoroughfares still had a significant amount of snow packed on the roads. Even by Monday and Tuesday, some streets had been left untouched or only plowed to allow one car through.

Independent cities are responsible for clearing roads in city limits, according to Ken Slack, spokesman for VDOT.

"Independent cities such as Waynesboro, Staunton and Harrisonburg are responsible for their own street maintenance including snow removal," Slack said. "The only place you may see VDOT plows working inside the city limits would be on the interstate and their on- and off-ramps."

Many Waynesboro residents were left frustrated.

"For the first time since moving to Waynesboro in 2003 and since purchasing my home in 2008, I am not happy with the way public works has handled the clearing of the streets in Waynesboro," said Jon Stout, who lives on Sherwood Avenue. "The city decided that an area in the middle of town was going to be the last to be plowed. That was my problem."

Stout said he didn't understand the logic the city was using to clear the streets. Instead of starting in the city center, they saved that for last, Stout said.

"We are located in area A10 on the map, which incidentally is the last area plowed even though it is in the center of the residential part of the city overlooking downtown from the north," he added. "It would seem to anyone with a small amount of logic that you would work from the inside of the city outward, which means our area should be first in the A ward not last."

Since the city waited to plow numerous streets, the snow turned to ice and then repacked, Stout said. The city crews came through his street on Monday twice, only to create feet-tall walls, creating barriers where he had already dug out.

Talking with the city, Stout said he was bounced around from person to person and didn't get a real answer as to what was going on. Those clearing wouldn't move excess snow to places farther down the street, instead they just created a path, Stout said.

"It's showing no sense," Stout said. "I think that some of the people doing these plans aren’t thinking. There are lanes on U.S. 250 that half of them still have snow on them, so you lose a lane of driving. It used to be that Waynesboro was better than the county, but now the county has surpassed us."

Joel Gillespie also echoed Stout's sentiments on clearing lanes on major roads in the city.

"Main roads have been cleared, but a lot of places, especially Lew DeWitt Boulevard, the plows didn't clear the entire right lane," Gillespie wrote on Facebook. "You'll be driving along and all of the sudden, there's no lane. I almost was in a wreck yesterday because of it. The comical and embarrassing part is that the city public works page has a map that shows the entire city has been plowed. Waynesboro has always been bad, but it was a different level this storm."

Waynesboro City Manager Mike Hamp said crews, split into two shifts, have been working 24 hours a day since Friday trying to get roads cleared. Crews first started clearing primary roads during Friday's storm and then worked on clearing secondary roads. The goal during the storm was to keep primary roads open, Hamp said.

"I'm aware there are a lot of residents who are frustrated and angry," Hamp said.

One key decision Hamp said the city made was to forgo pushing all the snow in every ward curb-to-curb. In doing this, Hamp said crews were able to clear streets faster to allow for residents to get out.

"If you do less than curb-to-curb, you do it more quickly and get to the entirety of the community," Hamp said.

Hamp said as crews went through, plows tried not to obstruct people's shoveling and dig-out efforts.

"It will leave, in some cases, some residents with more snow to clean themselves," Hamp said.

Also, with each pass through of neighborhoods, Hamp said crews have tried to make the path as wide as possible without damaging personal property. In some cases roads in subdivisions can fit two cars, others just one, Hamp said.

"People are just going to have to be courteous to one another in those instances," he said.

To address safety issues, Hamp said crews Tuesday were working on widening paths in roads and intersections. Crews also have been responding to complaints as best they can, Hamp said.

"I got stuck at intersection of Alphin and Park streets. It was if the city completely bypassed that area," Wilson Camden posted on Facebook. "Thankfully just down the road were some young men helping others to dig out other peoples' cars from the deep snow. The city attention to the main streets is helpful for emergency vehicles, but for the average citizens the secondary roads need to be gotten to. Our street is still covered in snow, and if we get even a small amount of precipitation, the street will just glaze over with black ice, and with a street that goes downhill, that could easily cause car accidents."

"I wish they would come to the end of A Street where you turn left on Calf Mountain Road or right on Flat Rock Road and clear away that mess," Barbara Douglas wrote on Facebook. "It took me six tries last night to get through that mess and I almost hit four vehicles. You need to be more concerned at stop signs and lights where snow accumulates and without four wheel drive it's hard to get through."Many residents were concerned with safety. With uncleared roads, it created problems for drivers three days after the snow had started falling.

Fred Shaner lives just outside of Waynesboro and has gone through the main streets of Waynesboro several times since the storm has stopped

"Waynesboro should be embarrassed," Shaner wrote on Facebook. He lives just outside of Waynesboro and has gone through the main streets of Waynesboro several times since the storm has stopped.

Other residents took it upon themselves to clear the way.

"The road in front of my house hasn't been touched," Sarah Teerlink wrote on Facebook. "My dad finally made a path with his snow blower."

Lori Randolph said that her street was plowed for only one car to pass through and the front of her home is plowed clear because she paid someone to come and clear it out.

"I think whoever is in charge needs to have a meeting with the people in charge of Staunton and Augusta County's plow team and find out how they're so much more efficient than we are," Randolph posted on Facebook. "I'm not saying they don't work hard, but there seems to be a better way that Waynesboro clearly doesn't know."

Many residents said workers should be retrained.

"Waynesboro city workers need to be retrained in plowing," Anika Crawford posted on Facebook. "All of Waynesboro sucks. We parked off the street thinking they could and would do better and not block our driveway ... that was a joke. So when we did finally get out that was another joke ... all the roads are trash and this morning not much of a difference. They call it passable. How is that when there is two inches of snow and ice on them?"


Read or Share this story: