Council reviews response of Metro and Road Services to snowstorm and flooding

January 12, 2009

Summary

Briefing raises questions on how to improve delivery of services and communication with public

Story

Even if events like the December snowstorm or the January flooding are once in a decade events, members of the Metropolitan King County Council say that County agencies must still be prepared to deliver needed services to the public over an extended period of severe weather.

The Council’s Committee of the Whole today received briefings from Metro Transit and the Road Services Division on their response to the December snowstorm and the week of torrential rains that followed. Both agencies stressed that the extraordinary events showed areas where they could improve their policies and procedures to keep buses on the streets and roads clear.

“Despite the heroic efforts of its front-line employees, Metro was unable to deliver reliable service or clear information to riders during the recent snowstorms. That has to change,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine, in his last meeting as chair of Committee of the Whole. “Today’s discussion provided many good ideas on how to improve Metro’s storm response, enhance communication with transit users, and create the level of coordination between agencies required to get riders safely to their destinations.”

Constantine said he recognized the strong efforts made by Metro and Road Services during the snowstorm, noting that road crews plowed more than 75,000 miles of County roads and that many transit operators stayed behind the wheel for 12-hour shifts in order to provide round-the-clock coverage during the heart of the storm.

Linda Dougherty, director of the County’s Road Services Division, said their efforts to keep roads clear in rural and unincorporated King County started well before the snow started to fall, with the stockpiling of road salt and de-icing fluid at maintenance yards in rural King County at the start of winter.

Councilmember Kathy Lambert, who represents Northeast King County, praised the Road Services Web cams that she said provided useful visual information on the status of county roads. She asked about improved communications for both technology and non-technology plans. She also asked Road Services about the possibility of getting assistance by authorizing private citizens in rural communities to plow their side streets during major snow events.

In the wake of four separate snowstorms in the span of two weeks, Metro Transit General Manager Kevin Desmond said that bus service was reduced and the standard snow plan used by Metro had to be revamped. In future major events, Desmond said Metro will work to improve how it keeps riders informed about disruptions in service and about major corridors on which Metro is still able to offer service during those storms.

Councilmember Larry Phillips said while he understood the need for reducing transit service during the storms, he was concerned about continued interruptions in service after the snow had stopped. Phillips cited stranded riders on top of Queen Anne Hill and patients trying to get to medical appointments on First Hill as examples for improved communication between Metro and its passengers.

“During big storm events, citizens rely on public transit even more than usual, especially when driving becomes so hazardous, so this is an important opportunity to make transit service and customer communications more reliable and effective during major disruptive effects,” said Councilmember Phillips. “The public has been very clear in coming forward with concerns and suggestions for better service. We will take in that input and use it to make our system better in the future.”