DPW Targets Post-Blizzard Cleanup Effort in Winchester Center

The Winchester Department of Public Works concentrated their cleanup efforts in the downtown area Monday night into Tuesday morning.

"Winchester Center is really bad...so we will shut down the downtown area and bring equipment in and concentrate on cleaning up the sidewalks," Gill said on Monday afternoon. No parking was allowed in the downtown area from 10 p.m. Monday through 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to Gill.

DPW crews have been working long hours to cleanup up the estimated 30.2 inches of snow that fell in town during the blizzard Friday into Saturday.

"The guys are very tired," Gill said, adding that many of his employees have worked 40 to 50 hours the past couple days. "Fortunately, no one has been hurt during the cleanup."

Snow Removal Process

Gill explained how the snow removal effort went smoothly during the blizzard as well as the post-storm phase.

"Everyone has done a tremendous job: the police (and) fire," Gill said. After the town gave NSTAR flack for their alleged slow response during previous storms, the DPW director said NTAR has done a "terrific job" this time around.

The snow removal process has been aided by the fact that no trees have fallen, according to Gill, but also by Gov. Deval Patrick's statewide travel ban from 4 p.m. Friday through 4 p.m. Saturday. 

"The travel ban was a huge help," Gill said. "Usually there are cars on the road and it can make plowing the streets difficult, but that was not the case this time."

Five cars were towed during the town's emergency parking ban, which ran from 5 p.m. Friday until noon on Sunday, according to Gill. Some of the towed vehicles were from Vine and Park Streets and Aricia Lane, according to Gill.

Gill claims the "main drags are looking great" and the secondary roads are in "pretty good" condition. Gill's crew will be spending time working to improve the school grounds within the district.

Clear the Roof

On top of their responsibilities to clear roughly 60 mies of sidewalks in town, Gill said crews are working to remove snow from the roofs of school and municipal buildings. "We are not concerned about roofs collapsing, but more so the possibility of snow falling from roofs onto children," he said.

Winchester Public Schools and St. Mary's School were closed Monday, but Gill hopes students will be able to return to class Tuesday morning. He is urging parents to drive their kids to school while his crews work to clear sidewalks in town.