How is snow removal in the area? (Spokane, South Hill: school, live in)

[Leroy James]

Spokane, Spokane Valley, CDA, Post Falls, Hayden. If you live in these areas I ask how responsive are the work crews after a snow fall? Do they clean up at all if snow is still falling? Also asking if the roads get very icy. I know most of the area's rain also comes in winter. How often does it rain and then freeze over and/or snow Or vice versa. Does the snow stick around long and build up or does it tend to melt off?

[AK76]

I have lived in the Spokane area for 6 months now, after relocating from Alaska after 40 years there. To summarize based on first hand observation and what I have been told by coworkers who live in Idaho and commute Spokane Valley; Idaho does a superior job of clearing the roads after a snow fall, this I have been told and this I have seen from the drivers seat of a heavy truck.

Stevens county, where I live, does a superior job of clearing roadways compared to Spokane county, by far. Spokane and Spokane Valley are basically terrible when it comes to plowing, and actual removal of snow from the roadways and sidewalks is non-existent, WSDOT/Counties/Cities relies very heavily on de-icer to clear the driving surfaces rather than heavy equipment, as a result, the de-icer creates very slippery slushy driving conditions for a few days until the roads dry out; snow berms are there until they melt away. Additionally, road crews wait until the snow stops falling and traffic has had a good, long, opportunity to compact the snow into ice on the roads, rather than get on top of it to reduce the overall impact.

Drivers here are terrified of winter driving conditions, it is a positive and a negative in that the fear keeps the speed to a frustrating snails pace, couple that with many rear wheel drive, or front wheel drive only vehicles which lack proper tires and many slide off the road or are frequently stuck.

So, from the perspective of an Alaskan with 40 years of winter driving experience (winters are 6 months long there) the driving conditions (conditions = drivers, road surface, snow removal or lack thereof) are abysmal.

Also, I keep hearing what a "bad" or "terrible" winter this year has been, and "we have'nt had a winter this bad since 08'", I can only guess that in a more "typical" winter, that winter driving conditions are "better" than what I am experiencing, and that my first winter experience here is "non-typical".

[PS90]

I can't really speak for Spokane's clean-up, but I haven't noticed drivers there being any worse than anywhere in else in Eastern Washington. Except, of course, for the fact that you have a whole bunch of people crammed onto narrow roads in less-than-ideal driving conditions. YMMV.

If you think Spokane drivers are bad, try going to school at WSU for 8 years. 60% of the people driving in Pullman are from Western Washington, who are suddenly put into snowy driving conditions in which they have absolutely no idea how to handle.

[Upthewazzu]

Originally Posted by PS90

If you think Spokane drivers are bad, try going to school at WSU for 8 years. 60% of the people driving in Pullman are from Western Washington, who are suddenly put into snowy driving conditions in which they have absolutely no idea how to handle.

I can confirm that nothing has changed since you left. This winter has been maddening down here. First off, the plows have for whatever reason decided to not plow the snow to the edge of the road. The go down the middle, leaving berms that extend 3+ ft into the road on both sides. So now most residential streets are effectively one lane roads, especially when people attempt to part in the street.

Drivers are a mix of locals that drive hilariously slow even in the best of conditions, and west-siders who have no idea how to drive. There is a weird mix of drivers going 15mph below the speed limit on clear and/or wet roads and other driving above the speed limit on snow covered and icy roads. This is why I purchased a big pickup truck last year.

[The Singularity]

Originally Posted by AK76

I have lived in the Spokane area for 6 months now, after relocating from Alaska after 40 years there. To summarize based on first hand observation and what I have been told by coworkers who live in Idaho and commute Spokane Valley; Idaho does a superior job of clearing the roads after a snow fall, this I have been told and this I have seen from the drivers seat of a heavy truck.

Stevens county, where I live, does a superior job of clearing roadways compared to Spokane county, by far. Spokane and Spokane Valley are basically terrible when it comes to plowing, and actual removal of snow from the roadways and sidewalks is non-existent, WSDOT/Counties/Cities relies very heavily on de-icer to clear the driving surfaces rather than heavy equipment, as a result, the de-icer creates very slippery slushy driving conditions for a few days until the roads dry out; snow berms are there until they melt away. Additionally, road crews wait until the snow stops falling and traffic has had a good, long, opportunity to compact the snow into ice on the roads, rather than get on top of it to reduce the overall impact.

Drivers here are terrified of winter driving conditions, it is a positive and a negative in that the fear keeps the speed to a frustrating snails pace, couple that with many rear wheel drive, or front wheel drive only vehicles which lack proper tires and many slide off the road or are frequently stuck.

So, from the perspective of an Alaskan with 40 years of winter driving experience (winters are 6 months long there) the driving conditions (conditions = drivers, road surface, snow removal or lack thereof) are abysmal.

Also, I keep hearing what a "bad" or "terrible" winter this year has been, and "we have'nt had a winter this bad since 08'", I can only guess that in a more "typical" winter, that winter driving conditions are "better" than what I am experiencing, and that my first winter experience here is "non-typical".

Yep, horrendous. Need studded tires. I now understand the ditch on I-90.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Snow is falling now. Snow plow has been down my road twice already today and I am in a residential area and the road is only used by the people who live on it. I'd say that road plowing service is excellent (Rathdrum, Idaho)

Studded tires do give some security. There has already been some ice and it is very likely that there will be a lot more ice as winter progresses.

There have been several reports of accidents on bridges. If you have moved here from a warmer climate, be aware that bridges will ice up a lot sooner than the rest of the road forms ice.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Adding, idaho has Web cams on all highways and I suspect Washington does, too. So you can check the road conditions easily,

[mistyriver]

Lived in north Idaho for 14 years and live in Spokane now. It's always been a fact that Idaho does a better job than Washington and even though I love Spokane, the city is definitely not the greatest at snow removal.

We haven't bothered getting our studded tires out of our cabin shop in Idaho for the past few years and have done fine with 4WD SUVs and Subarus here in Spokane though. We live on the South Hill. Have to say that the roads were not much fun on Friday. The snow seemed to catch everyone flatfooted.

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by Leroy James

Spokane, Spokane Valley, CDA, Post Falls, Hayden. If you live in these areas I ask how responsive are the work crews after a snow fall? Do they clean up at all if snow is still falling? Also asking if the roads get very icy. I know most of the area's rain also comes in winter. How often does it rain and then freeze over and/or snow Or vice versa. Does the snow stick around long and build up or does it tend to melt off?

Our City Council has just provided funding for street crews, aided by homeless transients, to catch each snowflake as it falls, hopefully avoiding the annoying accumulation of snow which makes jogging, dog-walking, outdoor yoga, gluten-avoidance, and aromatherapy so problematic during the colder months, particularly on the South Hill.

Rain continues to be a more stubborn problem. Council President Stuckart, fresh from his brainstorm involving tons of rocks placed under the freeways to discourage outdoor sleeping by undesirable elements, has proposed that giant sponges be readied for deployment over the city at the first sign of sprinkles, but Council members have not been able to agree on what color the absorbent material should be. So far, pink, baby blue, and cyanide green are the leading candidates, though a small but vocal rump group is proposing some sort of rainbow design.