If plowing roads that were once able to accommodate 2-way travel and parking on either side into single lane thoroughfares with no parking, piling snowbanks so high on corners that cars can't see and pedestrians have to walk in the street so they don't fall on poorly cleared sidewalks deserves praise then okay. Good job Melrose! you really knocked it out of the park. Seriously? How many storms do we need to have before the DPW finally gets that plows need to go down both sides of a street and not the middle?

I agree. I don't understand why they plow a single lane down the middle of the street, leaving huge piles of snow in the street. It would seem to me to make sense to do it right from the start, instead of having to send front loaders to go fix it later. I can accept the streets not being precisely curb-to-curb, but they should at a minimum be able to accommodate two cars passing one another. Also, what I saw of the sidewalk plowed routes in my neighborhood was atrocious. I don't know how middle and high school kids are supposed to cross the streets safely - at least the elementary kids have crossing guards to help with visibility.

I am extremely disappointed. I have talked to my neighbors and no one of us have seen a plow since the snow stopped on Saturday.

Our street has been plowed and re-plowed a couple of times. I completely understand the need of a first pass creating a single lane on all streets, and then widening them from there. I remember Brooklyn a couple of years ago with ambulances and fire trucks stuck in the snow - that is the last thing you want when you're the one with the emergency.

There are only so many plows, and only so many people available to drive them. It's taken time, but the roads are in decent shape, IMO..

Then again, perhaps I have a slightly different expectation of recovering from this kind of snow having lived through these kinds of storm several times a winter for most of a decade in northern Wisconsin.

I could understand that argument if the second pass to widen ever came. But they just keep going down the same middle clearing, if they even come at all. Consider yourself fortunate if your road is clear. You are lucky and most definitely in the minority. I get that there are only so many plows and so many people but this happens with every storm--regardless of it's magnitude. What's that definition of insanity again? Doing something over and over again hoping for a different result? Clearly something needs to change.

It's been 3 days since this storm ended and the roads are pathetic. They told us not to drive for a day and half or they would fine us or give us jail time. So we stayed home, nothing. We we were told yesterday by the Superintendent that even though school is open, NOT to walk to school because of the treacherous conditions for the children yet they have given us no place to park in order to drive them there instead. We were told not to park on the roads for 4 days, and now the Mayor is saying that even though they lifted the ban, please use common sense and don't park on the roads so we can clear them properly. Huh????

I too have slightly different expectations having spent half of my life in the snow capital of the world in Syracuse, NY. 2-3 feet snow is par for the course there and from what I've seen of this region's idea of how to remove snow over the last 20 years compared to that, it's truly laughable.

I was impressed by the DPW plowing nonstop all weekend, and have seen them come back through to widen streets as recently as last night. I work in Boston and have driven through neighboring communities during my commute. In terms of our major thoroughfares I strongly believe Melrose DPW did a great job compared to other communities.

I agree with Laurie W. Our DPW should be applauded for the overtime work they did making our main roads safe. I agree with single lanes on side streets. They were working late Monday to move some of the larger snowbanks around the Roosevelt, middle and high schools. Yesterday, officer Applegate was helping direct traffic at the Middle and High school. I think we are far to critical of our city employees. This is different from your average storm. I appreciate our plow drivers, Police and others who worked during and after the blizzard !

3am yesterday morning plows cleaning stop signs in residential areas 1/3 mile from one of the schools yet a few hours later children attending that school were still walking in the street because they sidewalks were impassable. Years ago if the sidewalks were not plowed children did not go to school PERIOD! Children were kept SAFE! Cars and babies don't mix It would 10 minutes to clear the sidewalks and CROSSWALKS near the school’s first!! Or why not CLOSE the roads to traffic during crossing so the children can walk safely to school! A few years ago I watched a blind girl and her mom sliding on the icy unplowed sidewalk at the crosswalk they fell into the busy street!! I wrote about it then!! Nothing has changed!
A QUOTE yesterday from a nameless crossing guard... "When on duty crossing this morning my heart sank when I saw a child with her mother walking in the street to school because the sidewalks still aren't plowed and the child was almost hit by a passing car. The same happened with another parent and child!! It's horrible! There is nothing we can do but try to get them across the street as safely as possible even though we all must stay in the road. It really is not safe for anyone."
Personally my child would NOT be attending school in such a potential death trap. Crossing guards keep showing up it must be for love and safety of the children!
This obvious abuse from neglect must stop before someone gets killed!!

Overall the clean-up has been pretty good. A storm of this magnitude is not easily dealt with and I think we need to accept that fact and appreciate that the work is still in progress.

NH had just as much snow and everything was plowed out by the next day. (And salted).
Access to schools should be a priority even if it is just a few blocks children should not be walking in the street.
When I grew up if it wasn't plowed there was no school especially in such a busy road!
Plow equipment is much better than it used to be.
Plows are much more efficient and quicker.
It's the priorities that are not right. Why clean out stop signs at 3 am in residential areas but not the sidewalks leading to school??
Happy to report they finally cleared the sidewalks ( by Heavenly Licks) before the kids walked in the street again today!

Wondering why my comments and facts have a reject note at the top right hand corner. Isn't this an open forum or did I make a mistake signing up for this blog? Whats up with that?

Strange i can send you a picture if what I see.
It is in black lettering just outside the upper tight hand conner. It us on 3 of my comments. I figured maybe they were blocked for some reason. Thank you for checking!!
Do I need to follow up on that?

Sorry it is in the upper right hand conner still inside the blue txt box

Ohhhhhh hahahaha I hope thats what it is!!!
Another duhhhhhbb moment for me I guess lol
Thanks for your help!!!!

There is certainly nothing wrong with logging complaints about the plowing in Melrose concerning the question posed.....but the Mayor has demonstrated that he wants to seriously address all these concerns and encourages anyone to call 781-665-0142 and other numbers listed on the city website to get them addressed as expeditiously as possible.There are just so many resources our city has given our size and budget. After all...this was the 5th largest snow storm in our history and from what I could see throughout my travels in the city this week, city workers have been busy cleaning up after the storm fixing water leaks and removing snow from critical intersections, school sites, etc.

I believe you missed my point. Children were walking to school in the street Again!. Two of them were close to being hit by passing cars.
Two of the three listed below should have already been implimented blizzard or no blizzard.
Its has become the same problem every winter in recent years.
1. Close the schools until children do not have to walk in the street to get to there. ( safety issue) safety laxed
2. Re-route the traffic from the schools when the children are walking to and from the school. (Safety issue)
3. Plow the sidewalks and crosswalks so the crossing guards and children are not in the street. (Safety issue)

The last time I wrote letters to Melrose was about 3 years
ago. I had been in my car and watched a blind girl her mother making their way from school over unplowed icy sidewalks (that had not been plowed for days after a snow storm.) They fell into the street and it was lucky for them that no cars were coming at the time. (Nothing was addressed then either) another(Safety issue)

I did not see any police presence to assist the children walking in the street.

It was requested I put this information in to this public forum. You can bring it to the attention of the Mayor if you like, but as far as I'm concerned nothing has changed since the first time I wrote a few years ago.

With all due respect Celeste......you never mentioned what school you live near nor give any specific details about the area to provide the Mayor and his staff enough info so that they can correct the situation and find out why it did not get corrected faster. We all have a personal responsibility as concerned citizens to inform the authorities directly when you see dangerous situations....not just to complain about them on a message board.

I believe the DPW did a great job with snow removal. I saw men out there all day and all night battling the snow. I do however feel bad for them. Here 'most of us are' shoveling out front of our homes and/or bussniess... and others are taking the back seat and watching these guys do their work for them. How about we as individuals start taking resposibility for ourselves and start shoveling in front of our own properties. If we have a fire hydrant out front.. shovel it out.. and don't make a giant snow bank so that children can't walk to school. Are we that lazy that we really need someone else to do everything for us?

im a visiting nurse and travel ALL surrounding communities. Let me say that MELROSE has the BEST plowing around!! The streets are AWESOME! wide, clear and we have the ability to park on all the side streets! Wakefield, SToneham, Woburn and Wakefield need to take notice!! The lake in Wakefield STILL wasnt plowed as of yesterday!! So sad. People of MELROSE be happy where you live...great DPW workers!! thank you from all the visiting nurses and hospice nurses!! :)

As someone who walks all over Melrose most of our streets did seem passable although some were very narrow...as for huge piles of snow? I saw many and some at intersections making it necessary to walk on the street because of impassable corners. And also the damage done to fences...brand new HS field fence, Washington park fence...by plows who plowed huge piles of snow into them...saw plenty of damage done by careless plowers.