Winter Storm Jonas Response (County Facilities)

1. A Fairfax County, VA, publication
Department of Public Works and Environmental Services
Working for You!
Winter Storm Jonas
Response (County
Facilities)
Presentation to the Board of Supervisors
March 1, 2016

2. DPWES Director’s Office
Strengths of Snow Removal Efforts
• One County approach to snow response and
removal efforts (County Facilities)
• County executive leadership engaged
• County Snow Response Plan worked – prioritized
facility clearing
• Dedicated staff committed to the mission
– Effective partnerships: OEM, FCPA, DVS, Sheriff’s Office
(CLF), and contractors
– DPWES teams came together and performed as a team;
morale was good
• Safety - 5 injuries (none serious) out of 250
employees working 12 hour (plus) shifts, Friday
through Wednesday = 13,500 hours (6.5 SYE)
• Snow equipment held up throughout event
2

3. DPWES Director’s Office
Lessons Learned from Snowmaggedon
• Informed decision making to close or delay County
government operations
• Improved safety – safety messaging and focus
• Utilization of additional contract resources for large events
• Enhanced technology – WebEOC, EDGR, etc.
• Improved communication and coordination with Snow
Removal Operations Center, EOC, and agency liaisons
• Improved snow planning, preparation, training and
communication
• Improved team based approached – “One County”
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4. DPWES Director’s Office
Challenges of Snow Removal Efforts
• Entire snow budget used
• New types of landscapes and
infrastructure requires
modernization and
enhancement of equipment
• Difficult to take on additional
snow removal sites with
limited and aging resources
• Levels of service continue to
change after each significant
snow event
• Clearing of fire hydrants
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5. DPWES Director’s Office
Challenges of Snow Removal Efforts
• Urban areas
– Where to push snow or haul?
– Dispersed responsibilities and
lack of coordination (VDOT,
County, property owners) -
“snow windrow” each other
in
– Greater dependence on
multimodal transportation –
pedestrian facilities, transit
– ADA accessibility
– Street parking
– Impacts of construction
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6. DPWES Director’s Office
Local Jurisdiction Snow Removal Ordinance Comparison
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Jurisdiction Snow
Ordinance?
Residential or Commercial? Enforced? Is enforcement
effective?
City of Alexandria Yes Both Yes Notices are administered
for non-compliance
Arlington County Yes Both Code Enforcement Team Physically incapable
residents are exempt
City of Fairfax No Both are encouraged N/A Yes = small, No = large
Fairfax County No Both are encouraged N/A N/A
City of Falls Church Yes Both Police – citations are rare Enforcement based on
size of event
Loudoun County Yes Both Department of Building
and Development
Class 4 misdemeanor
and up to $250 fine
Prince William County No Both are encouraged N/A N/A
Town of Herndon No N/A N/A N/A
Town of Vienna No N/A N/A N/A

7. DPWES Director’s Office
Local Jurisdiction Snow Removal Ordinance Comparison
7
Jurisdiction Walkways? How defined? Contracted or
department employees?
Legal issues in offering
different levels of
service?
City of Alexandria Yes Publicly owned sidewalks, walkways,
and pathways
TES, Parks and
Recreation
Levels of service vary
based on size of event
Arlington County Yes Around County owned facilities and
properties, and parks, walkways to
Metro and schools
Public works employees
and contractors
N/A
City of Fairfax Yes Routes to schools, old town, City
buildings, bus stops and shelters
Public works and park
employees, for large
storms contractors
N/A
Fairfax County Yes Sidewalks and walkways around
County facilities and property
DPWES, FCPA, CLF, and
contractors
N/A
City of Falls Church Yes Near City facilities Parks and Recreation N/A
Loudoun County Yes Sidewalks and walkways around
County facilities and property
General services, public
works, and parks and rec.
and contractors
Levels of service vary
based on size of event
Prince William County Yes Sidewalks and walkways around
County facilities
Public works employees
and contractors
N/A
Town of Herndon Yes Downtown sidewalks and designated
school routes
Public works employees N/A
Town of Vienna Yes Town buildings, parks, schools, near
metro
Park and Recreation N/A

8. DPWES Director’s Office
FCDOT – Fairfax County Assets
• Bus Stops – NO snow removal
– Fairfax Connector: 2,021 bus stops
– WMATA: 1,296 bus stops
• Shelters
– Fairfax Connector
• MSMD maintained: 378, no snow removal, these are cleaned by Community
Labor Force, and repaired by MSMD
• Signal maintained: 153, snow is removed
– WMATA maintained: 50, no snow removal
• Park and Rides
– Fairfax owned: 14, snow removed by MSMD via a contractor
– VDOT owned: 7, snow removed by VDOT
FCDOT does not remove any snow, the only resource available for snow
removal of individual stops is our vendor who maintains the advertising
shelters, of which we have 153.
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9. DPWES Director’s Office
Snow Removal Feedback from Tysons Partnership
• Strengths
– County snow removal response was effective
– VDOT did a good job clearing snow for vehicular traffic
• Areas for Improvement
– Snow piled into traffic lanes and sidewalks and walkways
– Improve metro access snow removal
– Clearly define guidelines for sidewalk clearance
– Better response from VDOT regarding clearing status
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10. DPWES Director’s Office
Next Steps
• Board has authority to enact snow
removal ordinance and can define
specific levels of service across the
county
• Additional information is required if the
Board is interested in the County
providing snow removal for sidewalks
and walkways
• Adding additional services = additional
costs and resources
• Schools need to identify walking routes
– Challenge will be hauling snow out of
intersections with no where to move it
• FCDOT to identify transit routes that are
priorities
– Bus stops
– Shelters
– Walkways to Metro stations
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11. Additional Information
For additional information, please contact
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes
DPWES Director’s Office
James Patteson
11
703-324-5033
James.Patteson@fairfaxcounty.gov