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Residents, commissioners say snow response left streets, sidewalks and trash collection severely disrupted
Summary
Public witnesses told the Committee on Public Works and Operations that the Jan. 25 snow and follow‑on ice events left many streets, alleys and sidewalks uncleared for days to weeks, interrupted trash/recycling service for some residents for weeks, and exposed gaps in DPW communications and tracking systems.
Chair Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau convened a public‑witness oversight hearing on Feb. 12 to gather accounts of the Department of Public Works’ performance during a recent snow and ice event that residents said left neighborhoods inaccessible.
Multiple commissioners and residents testified that collections were uneven and in some places stopped for weeks. "It is completely ridiculous and unacceptable that the district has not been able to pick up trash in my neighborhood in that period of time," one commissioner observed during testimony. Witnesses described streets and crosswalks uncleared, buses unable to serve stops, and commercial and residential alleys overflowing with debris that will feed rodent populations when snow melts.
Advocates and commissioners urged DPW to adopt clearer service‑level standards, rotate collection routes to avoid concentrated gaps, publicly correct inaccurate status updates and fix the GPS snowplow tracker that marked streets as cleared when they were not. Chair Nadeau said the committee will follow up with the city administrator and DPW and flagged a separate hearing with DPW government witnesses on March 4.
The hearing record remains open for written testimony through Feb. 26, 2026. The committee said it will compile block‑level reports and follow up on alleged gaps in 311 responsiveness and snow‑tracker data.
