A woman walks along a traffic lane on Washington Street as many sidewalks around the city remain icy. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Winter in New England is noted for snowfall, and this winter has seen several large storms which have dumped over a foot of flakes onto the City of Westfield.
Numerous city residents have raised concerns over the handling of snow removal this year, and various city departments are attempting to handle the precipitation as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Personally, I think a better job needs to be done,” said Norman Smith, secretary for the Commission for Citizens with Disabilities. “A lot of the walkways have not been cleared enough for residents in walkers and wheelchairs.”
Sidewalks around the Park Square Green remain unusable as a resident walks in an Elm Street traffic lane Monday.(Photo by Frederick Gore)
“We haven’t really been getting a lot of complaints,” said Maureen Belliveau, director of the city’s Business Improvement District, which handles snow cleanup for the storefronts within their district. “If we do get a complaint, I do try to get the clean team on it.”
Belliveau added that the city’s contracted “clean team” consists of one full-time employee and four part-timers, who are brought in by the contractor, Garten Landscaping of Springfield. They are also contracted to serve as the clean team for Northampton’s BID.
A large portion of city-owned sidewalk remains buried near the municipal parking lot on School Street Monday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
David Morretti, the owner of Garten, LLC., said the amount of men he sends on a job depends on the magnitude of the storm.
“We usually send four to six guys, but sometimes if it’s going to be a big storm, we’ll send a few guys in to clean up, then send them home,” Morretti said, listing Westfield, Agawam, and Springfield as municipalities that his workers call home. “It all depends on the storm.”
Morretti says that the business owners in Westfield are generally pleased with their work, but occasionally complain.
“We can’t do everyone’s sidewalk first. Someones gotta be last,” he chuckled. “Not too many complain, but when we’re done, the plows come through and sometimes block crosswalks.”
A small footpath in front of the Westfield State University dormitory Monday could be an obstacle to physically challenged residents. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
“The snow will pile up and freeze, and then we’ve got to chop at it and clear it,” Morretti said. “The BID has a limited budget, but if they block a crosswalk, we do our best to clean it up.”
Morretti added that, in the BID’s original contract with Garten, the company was only required to clear up crosswalks and handicap-accessible ramps, not items like sidewalks and fire hydrants.
Once his company committed to this “enhanced service”, Morretti said it became expected of them every year. He estimated that his workers clear around 3.5 miles space in the city, about one and a half miles less than in Northampton, using only four or five snowblowers.
