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Residents press Wausau committee to restore boulevard plowing; council asks staff for cost estimates
Summary
Dozens of Southeast Side residents urged the Infrastructure & Facilities Committee to reverse a recent change that directs plows to the curb rather than center boulevards, citing blocked driveways, sight‑line hazards and damaged mailboxes. The committee agreed to return the issue with cost estimates and guidance for exceptions.
The City of Wausau Infrastructure & Facilities Committee heard sustained public comment on a change to the city’s snow‑plowing practice and asked staff to return with cost estimates for equipment changes and a recommended decision framework.
Dozens of residents and Southeast Side alder Carol Lukens said the city’s shift from pushing snow into center boulevards to plowing toward curbs has created safety and access problems on historic boulevards. "We're asking this committee to direct public works to resume plowing towards center boulevards on Midway, Oakwood, Elmwood, Mount View and Oakley Boulevards," Alder Carol Lukens told the committee, citing a petition of more than 40 property owners.
Longtime residents said the change left high snowbanks that block sight lines, complicate garbage pickup and have knocked over mailboxes. "So I just think it's in our best interest as a collective to make sure that we do the right thing for the neighborhood," said Jim Wirrig (2408 Oakwood Boulevard).
Public works staff told the committee their equipment is configured with right‑side wings that push snow to the outside in one pass and that adding left‑side wings or different setups would require upfits. "Currently, our equipment is designed with right side wings, which pushes it all to the right side," a public works staff member explained.
Committee members raised two constraints: driver liability if vehicles must operate contraflow on narrow boulevards, and the cost/time impacts of retrofitting or running removal operations more often. The committee also heard differing operational cost estimates during discussion: staff noted existing plow setups on some routes cost roughly "70 some thousand dollars a piece," while another speaker cautioned that retrofits and harness changes would be expensive and require dealer work; those estimates were discussed as approximate and attributed in the meeting exchange.
Rather than enact an immediate change, the committee voted to bring the item back to a future meeting with detailed cost estimates for outfitting equipment (left and right wings) and proposed criteria for when exceptions could be made. Alder Martin moved the request and Alder Haney seconded; the motion carried by voice vote.
What happens next: staff will prepare upfit cost estimates and a proposed decision framework for the committee to consider at the scheduled follow‑up meeting, and the current city policy remains in effect until the committee acts.
