The DPW has a CDL class B w air brake certificate. Last fall I went through Snow Plow Operator Training (SPOT) with our new drivers. I obtained my commercial drivers license (CDL) in Nov, & I got my first chance plowing snow this past Friday. (See pics.) Long 🧵 1/ Why? I began the job knowing how important all the work is, but not knowing the details of how it happens. I’ve tried to learn as much as I can to support our workers, & to build public support for their work throughout the city. (I love all the work, so this isn’t a burden.) 2/

More info on why we didn’t call a SE yesterday. The bottom line is that we could have a bigger impact NOT calling one & getting right to the residentials. We are trying our best to be innovative & flexible, & respond to resident concerns. 🧵1/9 For context, going into the day we had pre-treated all of the bridges, arterials & collectors with brine (salt water). This uses less chlorides than rock salt, & both helps the snow to melt faster & the plows to lift up the snow from the pavement. 2/9

Hey everyone. I want to be as accountable & transparent as possible – & apologize because we only finished 2/3 of our EW routes yesterday. The biggest reasons were weather & totally new routes. 1/5 We had to pull 15% of our staff to address overnight snow on arterials, & sewer staff had to focus on opening storm drains from all the rain. We were using totally new routes, which slowed the start & took longer than we expected. 2/5