Taken yesterday. It appears to me they are hard at work.
Taken yesterday. It appears to me they are hard at work.
Personally I was thinking you had information on the exact costs or modifications needed and have previous evaluated (compared) using sanitation vehicles as a stand by instead of acquiring additional plow trucks. What I've been able to find online has continuously been cities turning to this solution more and more. The main cost benefit being the lack of having to purchase additional trucks that won't see a lot of use year round. To the point about the equipment wearing out, what is the current replacement cycle for waste vehicles in OKC (or any surrounding city)?
Yes, we had relatively little snow in the 90's and 00's. Now all of the sudden we have two (maybe 3 next week) heavy snowfalls in the past two years. It wouldn't surprise me if the city adds more snowplows and than gradually reduces the number of snowplows to save money if and when we go through another period of little snowfall.
Ideally there would be a snow route map and an ice route map, LOL. It takes more time to clear the roads of snow so there needs to be less roads designated as snow routes.
Thanks. So when we compare it to a city like New York, that has their sanitation vehicles on a 7 year replacement cycle...considering the lower use they would get comparatively...we actually may not see a significant increase in cost correct? Except for any initial modifications needed to be made, and for the plows, there shouldn't be a huge impact on the equipment that would for and abnormally shorter replacement cycle.
Actually, the construction of a sanitation truck chassis is no different than plow truck chassis except two features... A front frame extension and a plow wiring harness... Total cost would be under $500.00.
Hydraulics that run the Sanitation units can be modified to run the plow...
Not advocating the use but it is actually a fairly simple and relatively inexpensive cost, if it is done when ordering the vehicle...
Well then, the business has passed you over...
This information is online... Hell, it is even part of the state of Oklahoma Vehicle Contract.
I'm not saying I would advocate using a sanitation unit with a packer body as a plow, but it could be done... and the truck models that are used in the street department are the same truck models used in sanitation and WUT... unless it is a front loader... of which there are 15 new ones as of fall of 2009. The vast majority of units at OCEAT are conventional cab trucks...
Sorrry that your "28" year experience has left you with no "current" information...
"yawn"... FACT
If you read what I wrote... It says "if it is done when ordering the vehicle"... Dude? its called reading comprehension...
My bad, retrofit should only be a couple of hundred more, when and where should I deliver the trucks, how many will your shop/yard handle at one time.
I buy the trucks, you do the work for $700--$800, I charge consumers $3000--$4000 (which is still a bragain), It's an offer I can't refuse.
I would like know how much money the OKC metro area has lost during each of the last 2 blizzards.
They said that over 1000 injuries occurred during our last snow storm. Of these how many could have been prevented by better ice/snow removal. How much did this cost our economy? Surly we must pay higher insurance rates because of this?
When many businesses and governmental entities can’t operate for days how many millions does that cost our economy.
This issue reflects poor on our economic development efforts.
Imagine our city/state leaders talking to a major business who was interested in moving to our area why we stay paralyzed for so much longer than a competition did.
This is a quality of life issue that most any outside business would consider not only from a pure business point of view but also for their employees.
I'm not going to take time to research statistics on this but, from what I remember, there were relatively few automobile related accidents and injuries during the last snow storm. If that figure is accurate, the vast majority of those injuries were likely unrelated to driving at all and thus not connected to snow removal issues. Most of the accidents and automobile related injuries that do occur are more directly connected to reckless drivers.
Your point was accounted for when I said that “Of these how many could have been prevented by better ice/snow removal” But even if the cost of accidents due to poor Ice/snow removal is only 10%, the total cost still needs to be accounted for.
I do know that the TV folks were saying that it was very slick several days after the storm and that several accidents had occurred. If the snow had been removed in a timely way the refreezing would not have been as bad and we would have had fewer accidents.
I don't know where you were driving but I never saw refreezing as a major problem during this storm except on residential streets. When snow is scrapped to the sides of the streets some of it will alway melt and run back out on the streets to refreeze. Of course there were accidents, but as I said, the vast majority were caused by reckless drivers instead of terrible street conditions. I don't enjoy driving on snowy or ice covered road any more than anyone else but I don't think that the snow removal efforts are near the problem that so many seem to dwell on. You have no way of knowing for sure about how many accidents would or would not have occured based on how fast the snow is removed so that is complete conjecture.
It's funny how all we hear is "government is too big, they need to stay out of our business, they waste money, blah, blah, blah, now whe we have a little snow and ice, they expect the government to clear every single road and sidewalk in town.
Ok fine but what about the rest of my post...............
When many businesses and governmental entities can’t operate for days how many millions does that cost our economy.
This issue reflects poor on our economic development efforts.
Imagine our city/state leaders talking to a major business who was interested in moving to our area why we stay paralyzed for so much longer than a competition did.
This is a quality of life issue that most any outside business would consider not only from a pure business point of view but also for their employees.
They want at least 10 more plows. Clearly they recognize they have a problem but they aren’t thinking outside the box for solutions. The city already owns the trucks and has the needed personnel hired.
http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-...,3245669.story
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The department of public works didn't finish its second sweep of snow routes until early Sunday.
With more snowfall coming Wednesday, is Oklahoma City planning on adding more plows to its fleet?
Not anytime soon says Public Works Assistant Director Paul Bronson.
"We'd like to have at least 10 more plows, at a minimum," said Bronson.
But putting even one more plow on the road costs a pretty penny.
Purchasing a new truck and plow costs the city $125,000; hiring two new operators to make sure the plow is on the road all day costs another $88,974.
Grand total to put just one more plow on the road: $213,974.
Bronson says that's not a cost the city is considering.
"It's money. We're in a fiscal year now where last year, as everyone is aware, we had to make significant budget cuts," Bronson said.
Bronson says the city is already "maxed out" on the number of independent plows it contracts. During last week's storm, any independent plows that were interested in helping out were on the road.
Oklahoma City operates 19 plows
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