An Open Letter to the City of Buffalo on Snow Plowing

Snow isn't something that is new to us in Buffalo. It's something that is ingrained in our DNA. Historically, we are among the best in the world when it comes to dealing with the fluffy white stuff that falls from the sky. For years experts have come to Western New York to learn how we deal with snow.

The snowfall comes at just about the same time every year, without fail. Sometimes it's a lot of snow, sometimes it's a little bit of snow. However, we get snow none-the-less and when it comes to dealing with winter weather, Buffalo knows snow

All of this leads to why I am so troubled by needing to write this. What is going on with our snow removal abilities this year?

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It's the nature of people to complain, that's a given; however, I do not remember a time since the Blizzard of '85 when I've seen and heard more complaints about snow removal.

A little over 20 inches of snow fell in my North Buffalo neighborhood during the January 17, 2022 snowstorm and it took almost days before my street saw its first snowplow. Buffalo Schools had to close for 2 days, not because of massive snow totals, but because snow-clogged roads were unpassable.

It took another 3 or 4 days before my street saw its first snowplow after the storm we had in early February, with schools having to close again for another two days due to roads that were not able to be navigated due to poor snow removal.

I know many people who work for the Buffalo streets department and I know those men and women are working as hard as they can. It just seems like the City of Buffalo's snow removal plan is not working.

The primary question I have for city officials is how? We are professionals when it comes to snow in Buffalo. Let's get it together. City officials are having a public meeting to talk about their performance and you are encouraged to attend.

I know I will be there.