Lakewood Snowplows Ready for the White Stuff

The storm that battered Northeast Ohio on Saturday came quickly and hit hard.

But city officials said the trucks were ready.

Just after the snow started falling, the city sent out a couple of trucks, but as it got worse, nine trucks were deployed. 

“It was a little surprising,” said Joe Beno, the city’s director of public works. “Most of the weather forecasts said it was going to be a dusting, and then 6 inches of snow fell. But we’ve been preparing for about a month.”

The city has about 4,000 tons of salt on hand.

“All our trucks were prepared, loaded with salt,” said Pat Lewis, the , who first sent out the first trucks around noon.

By the afternoon, with a high moisture content in the snow, the streets started to turn to ice.

“It was a tough one,” Lewis said. “We wanted to get a little extra out there."

During the past few years, with skyrocketing salt prices, the city has changed the way it salts the streets.

Crews still go after the main thoroughfares like Madison and Detroit avenues first, and side streets second.

“Over the course of time, we’ve tried to throw salt better,” Lewis said. “We don’t salt between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m. anymore. We’re more conscious of preserving salt as opposed to years past.”

Beno said he was pleased with his department’s reaction to the storm — especially after driving in neighboring communities that day.

“The first snow of the season it’s a little of a learning curve for everyone to learn how to drive in the snow again,” Beno said. “You might have to 20 miles per hour down the street rather than 35.”