CEDAR RAPIDS - Not many people are thinking about winter when the weather is this nice outdoors, but the Cedar Rapids streets department is talking about how to handle another record-breaking winter. The streets department hopes this past winter is the worst it will see for a while. But that's exactly what its preparing for....the worst. It's working on a new game plan to defeat Mother Nature this winter.

Worn out from a wicked winter of clearing city streets, snow plows in Cedar Rapids are resting. The trucks' drivers logged hundreds of hours of overtime. So it's no surprise the city burned through its budget by January.

"Even though we ran out of the budget they continued to support us, gave us the money and direction necessary to make sure there was public safety on the streets," says Craig Hanson, the Public Works Maintenance Manager.

The streets department is looking for the same support from the city council before winter strikes again. More efficient plowing and ice removal requires more money, but the department also wants permission to revise a few rules. One city council member suggests starting with alternate parking.

"One of the problems we had this year citizens complained about their streets, but we had people parked on both sides of the road, what are the poor snow drivers going to do?" says City Council Member Chuck Wieneke.

What to do about neglected sidewalks is another concern. The department is considering contracting out that work at the expense of homeowners or businesses so this crew can focus solely on the streets. But this new approach for next year isn't just about getting rid of Mother Nature's mess.
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"Replace mailboxes faster and be able to handle and be better at communication," says Hanson.

It's an all-around clean-up plan the streets department hopes to have in place when workers rouse these plows for another winter.

The streets department hopes to finalize any budget and rule changes when it meets with the city council again in July. It also emphasized how this past winter is really having a ripple effect on spring projects. It's pushed back pothole repairs, tree removal and planting projects, and storm drainage way cleaning.