Concerns Emerge After 4 Roads Not Plowed in Storm

While Hampton went relatively unscathed during the first major snowstorm of the season, both residents and public officials were lucky that emergency responders weren't inhibited by four roads that didn't get plowed due to an oversight.

Crest Street, Gentian Road, Meadow Pond Lane and Greene Street all mistakenly weren't plowed Friday or Saturday during the blizzard, meaning numerous residents had to contend with anywhere from 18 inches to two feet of snow and even larger snow drifts until nearly a day after the end of the storm.

Crest Street, located off of Winnacunnet Road just west of North Beach, wasn't plowed until after 10 a.m. Sunday because a resident could no longer wait for a town-operated plow, according to a Hampton-North Hampton Patch reader. Public Works Director Keith Noyes said he was first alerted to the Crest Street issue Monday after a call from Hampton-North Hampton Patch, while he said he was informed by dispatchers at about 10 a.m. Sunday morning about the other three roads. 

Noyes said he decided to plow the three other roads — all of which are located in the same neighborhood just west of the northern tip of Kings Highway — himself on Sunday as a way to quickly correct an issue he said shouldn't have occurred in the first place.

"It just fell through the cracks," said Noyes of all of the unplowed roads. "As soon as I was made aware of it I went down to take a look for myself.

"We’re going to do our best to ensure that never happens again."

Multiple residents on the streets contacted Patch to express frustration and inquire about the lack of plow service. One Crest Street woman was concerned that an ambulance that pulled down a neighboring street would've gotten stuck had it instead been en route to a medical aid call on Crest Street.

Noyes — who said he's "not aware" that plowing oversights on those streets or other streets "have been a problem in the past" — attributed the oversight to the small size of his staff, the lengthy 20-to-25-hour overtime shifts employees worked starting 4 p.m. Friday immediately after finishing a full work week, and the "tedious" nature of coordinating plow routes for both the first major "challenging" storm of the year and for the 77 total miles of road in town.

By comparison, Exeter has the same number of staff members, but only 58 total miles of road, according Noyes.

Noyes said he wasn't trying to make "excuses," though, and said his crews — which he said "did a great job" under the circumstances of the storm — will all be involved in group debriefing Wednesday in order to "come together and talk about the issue."

"We will bring up these certain areas that got missed and ensure that it doesn’t happen again," said Noyes.

Between 10 and 20 "valid complaints" also came in about cul de sacs being too narrow for proper snow removal, as well as complaints about roads that weren't plowed enough, according to Noyes. Noyes said the layout and size of many Hampton roads — including most of Hampton Beach — aren't "proper" width, which created a variety of issues with snow removal as well as snow storage.

Noyes said the storm wasn't the largest or most difficult in Hampton's history, as he said it's more difficult and costly when two or three different storms strike within a couple days of each other. He said no roads had to be closed due to the fact that crews couldn't plow them fast enough.

Exact overtime totals and storm costs for the weekend's blizzard won't be available until Wednesday, although Noyes said even without that data he said the department's budget is in good shape because they operate off a calendar year budget.

Crews were busy plowing and sanding on Monday — including Crest Road, for which Noyes sent a directed run due to the issues over the weekend — due to snow and rain that hit the area during Monday's storm.

Extra recycling and refuse runs were also conducted due to the weekend storm, which prevented many residents from bringing their carts to the curb, said Noyes.

In the future, Noyes recommended and welcomed any residents with concerns about unplowed roads or other snow-related issues to contact his department directly at 926-3202. Residents can leave a message for the department if no one is available, although Noyes recommended residents contact the Hampton Police Department's business line if there is no answer in order to expedite a solution.