After almost 2 feet of snow hit the city in late January and another 16 inches dropped Monday—with more potentially on the way—Newton crews have been working nonstop to clear roads.

“We generally try to contain everything to the two public works sites,” Public Works Commissioner Shawna Sullivan said in an interview. During especially large storms, she said, additional dumping sites may be needed. But to her knowledge, Newton has never dumped snow outside the city.

Beyond plowing and salting the streets, crews have been transporting snow primarily to the city’s two main sustainable materials management sites on Elliot Street and Rumford Avenue. If those locations get near capacity, the city turns to Forte Park and then Auburndale Cove, Sullivan said.

This fiscal year, the city budgeted $5 million for snow and ice removal and had spent $3.8 million of that as of the late January snowstorm, Sullivan said. 

Contractor costs make up the largest share of that spending. Massachusetts law allows municipalities to exceed their snow budgets in emergency situations, Sullivan said, and the city can draw from other funds if necessary.

“There are a number of different funds that the administration could choose to use to fund if it goes over the $5 million,” Sullivan said.

In addition to contractors, Newton relies heavily on its own snow equipment. Deputy Commissioner Bernie McDonald said the department has 101 pieces of snow-removal equipment including plows, dump trucks and salt spreaders.

“The goal is always to keep our roads open for emergency vehicle access throughout storms,” Sullivan said.

The city tracks and responds to residents’ complaints through its 311 reporting system. Many of the calls and submissions, she said, are related to plowing after the initial pass-through.

“Sometimes people would like their roads widened—they’re not happy that there are snow mounds,” Sullivan said. “Most of [the reports] are going to be sidewalk clearings, because we do have a requirement that residents shovel their sidewalks along with all commercial sites.” 

Some Newton residents have taken to Facebook groups and Reddit forums to question whether the city has done enough to clear the roads and city-maintained sidewalks. One user commented that their street in West Newton still hadn’t been plowed as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the day after the blizzard ended. Multiple Facebook users also said their driveways were repeatedly blocked in by snow that plows pushed there after the homeowners had shoveled their driveways.

Melissa Sydney, who lives in Newton Corner, said she got stuck while picking her daughter up from a sleepover Monday night. 

“From my street to Centre Street was totally fine, but my friend who lives in Newton Highlands—their street wasn’t plowed,” she said. “When I saw the condition of their street I probably should have turned around and gone back to my house.”

Sydney left after it stopped snowing, assuming her Volvo could handle the snowy streets. After getting stuck, she had help from her friend and his neighbor getting her car pushed out.

“I think I was a little overly confident,” she said.

Compared to other communities, though, the city has done a good job, Sydney said, especially “given that there’s way more snow than there is somewhere to put the snow.”

Still, she said, “there are still areas that are difficult to navigate when you have two cars coming in different directions. There are probably areas that do need one more pass through.”

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This story is part of a partnership between the Newton Beacon and the Boston University Department of Journalism.