St. Louis Streets Director outlines winter operations as residents and aldermen decry uncleared hill routes and missed trash

Director Bethany Williams, the City of St. Louis Streets Director, told the Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee on Jan. 15 that crews prioritized arterial and secondary routes during an 11-day response to a winter storm that began Jan. 4, and that the department began the season with 16,000 tons of salt in city stockpiles.

Williams said the city manages 4,230 lane miles, of which 1,920 are designated snow routes, operates 52 plow/salt routes and maintains 100 bridges. "We started this winter operations with 16,000 tons of salt," she said, and described crews that initially worked 12-hour shifts and later moved to 8-hour schedules as the storm progressed.

The presentation was followed by extended committee questioning and public comment, during which many residents, business owners and elected officials said hill routes and narrower residential streets remain icy and impassable. Alderman Joe Narayan (4th Ward) told the committee the response in parts of his ward "has been an absolute failure," saying some hill routes had not received salt trucks or plows 8 to 10 days after the storm. Several other aldermen and commenters described seniors, people with disabilities and schoolchildren as among the groups most affected.

Why it matters: The Streets Department's standard tiered priority is to clear arterials first, then secondary routes and hill routes, and only treat residential side streets in limited circumstances. That prioritization shapes when residents can expect services such as trash pickup and school access to resume. Residents and several committee members pressed for faster, broader action on hill routes, clearer public communications, better signage for snow routes, and consideration of updated ordinances or contractor use.

Key operational points from the department - Network and equipment: The city has 4,230 lane miles (1,920 on snow routes), 52 routes, 100 bridges and deployed about 50 plow/salt trucks during the storm. Williams said crews have been working since Jan. 4 and were at work for 11 days. - Salt and treatment: The department began winter operations with about 16,000 tons of salt across multiple domes (main dome at 1900 Hampton). Williams described how pre-treatment can be ineffective when rain precedes snow and that crews typically wait until there is plowable accumulation before major plowing. - Staffing and pay: Drivers are assigned to snow call by sign-up and receive incentive pay; Williams said not all Streets employees are on the snow-call list. She said refuse drivers are covered by a collective-bargaining rule that allows them not to operate when accumulation exceeds 6 inches and temperatures are below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. - Equipment updates: Williams said the city purchased smaller vehicles with ARPA funds but they are not yet in service; she estimated the new fleet would likely be deployed in 2025 or 2026 and not during the present season. - Interdepartmental support: The department worked with Parks & Forestry to use smaller vehicles and staff for residential streets, alleyways and ramps where large plows cannot operate. - Citizen reporting and mapping: Williams cited an interactive online map that shows arterial, secondary and hill routes and said the department is triaging requests from the Citizen Service Bureau (CSB) to prioritize work.

Public comments and aldermen's concerns Committee members and more than two dozen public speakers described widespread conditions they said were still dangerous: uncleared hill routes, sheet ice on side streets, missed trash pickups and overflowing dumpsters. Requests and recurring themes included: - Hill routes and residential access: Multiple speakers representing the 4th Ward, Dogtown, Tower Grove, Shaw and other neighborhoods said designated hill routes had not been treated or had been treated only days after the storm. Alderman Joe Narayan said he had not seen a salt truck on some hill routes for more than a week. - Trash collection limits: Williams repeated that the refuse contract allows drivers to decline fieldwork when snowfall exceeds 6 inches and temperatures are below 10 F; the department reported it collected roughly 50% of refuse routes during the storm and used salt in alleys where possible to restore collection access. - Signage and sign shop damage: Williams said signage for snow routes needs updating; she also said the city's sign shop equipment and building were damaged in a flood two years ago and that the city now uses a contracted vendor for sign production, which can lengthen turnaround time. - Schools, seniors and bus stops: Committee members urged the department to prioritize access around schools and senior-serving sites; several commenters reported bus riders falling at icy bus stops and seniors unable to leave homes. Williams said she had overlaid school locations on the department's routing map and was coordinating with the mayor's office and school staff to improve access. - Ordinances, enforcement and longer-term policy: Several aldermen and public speakers asked the Board to consider new or updated ordinances on resident parking during storms, clearer expectations for property owners to clear sidewalks, and options for expanded use of contractors or interdepartmental fleets to reach narrow residential streets.

Committee direction and next steps Committee members requested additional details and follow-up information: Williams said staff will provide exact counts of residential streets treated since the storm, give more specifics on cooperation with Parks & Forestry, and review options for updated signage and ordinance changes. She also said the department will examine how to adjust route-priority sequencing in future storms and consider increasing incentive pay to recruit more snow-call drivers.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve minutes of the Jan. 8, 2024 committee meeting. Mover/second: not specified on the record. Roll call recorded five affirmative votes and the motion carried. (Ayes recorded in transcript: Alderman Ballmer; Alderwoman Velasquez; Vice Chair Browning; Chair Schweitzer; Alderwoman Keyes.)

Ending note: The committee took no formal action on operational changes at this meeting beyond requesting follow-up information. Williams and staff said they will continue night and daytime treatment cycles as temperatures and weather permit and will return data and proposed policy options to the committee for further review.

Selected direct quotes "I am grateful for them and they continue to work very hard for the citizens of St. Louis every day," Director Bethany Williams said of Streets Department crews. "The response to this, at least in the 4th ward, has been an absolute failure," Alderman Joe Narayan said. "We started this winter operations with 16,000 tons of salt," Williams said.

Provenance: The committee hearing was the primary source for the operational figures, policy statements and most public testimony summarized here.