Summary

King County may be plowing an additional 70 miles of roads this winter, if plans proposed in a recent report move ahead. Nearly 20 of those miles would be in the vicinity of Fairwood and the Renton Highlands.

Story

When the next major winter storm hits, King County may be able to clear a lot more snow and ice from county roads.

Yesterday the Local Services, Regional Roads and Bridges Committee of the King County Council heard a report from King County’s Road Services Division on how the County could treat more unincorporated roads in the event of a snow storm.

The Road Services Division submitted the Snow and Ice Response Plan in response to a proviso that Councilmember Reagan Dunn included in the most recent County budget. Dunn’s proviso requested the County to increase the total miles of snowplow routes in unincorporated areas.

The report identifies 70 miles of unincorporated snowplow routes could be added to the existing 582 miles of designated routes. Of these 70 miles, 19.2 miles fall within the vicinity of Fairwood and the Renton Highlands. Neighborhoods that could receive more snowplows include portions of Fairwood, Maple Valley Heights, East Renton Highlands, and Mirrormont.

“Last February’s snowstorms pushed County resources to the limit and reminded us all of how important it is to be prepared for extreme weather,” Dunn said. “As we go into the next budget cycle, I will continue to work to ensure that more unincorporated roadways are kept clear and safe during winter storms.”  

The Road Services Division presented three options for achieving this increase:

• Utilizing on-call contractors to bolster County efforts as needed, or
• Hiring 18 new full-time County employees, or
• Leveraging resources such as equipment and labor from other County agencies

The report also identified resources the Road Services Division would need to implement the increase. According to the report, the Road Services Division prefers the first option, which allows for flexibility in snow response operations and is the lowest cost.

The Snow and Ice Response Plan Report will be received by the full Council on October 23^rd. Any additional funding would need to be identified in the upcoming budget cycle.