Did I just hear about Waltham’s new snow removal plan?

Earlier this week I was fortunate to be invited to a candidate forum for the residents of the Whalen Apartments on Orange Street. It was a great evening and I really enjoyed meeting everyone, hearing their concerns and sharing ideas on improving Waltham.

We were all very fortunate that Mayor Jeannette McCarthy also attended the forum and answered a number of questions. On the minds of many of the seniors in attendance was snow removal and what was being done to make sure we do not face the same inexcusable job done by the city this past winter and two winters before that.

Mayor McCarthy briefly outlined for all of us a new plan to split the city into quadrants and send the contracts for those areas out to bid. Those new contracts will also have new by-inch and by-hour benchmarks in them for plowing contractors to meet. Finally, the mayor stated that she will also be requesting money to purchase a number of new sidewalk plows.

I was thrilled by this news from our mayor. Improving snow-plowing is a central piece in my platform as a candidate. Yes, I’ll admit that selfishly as a political candidate I might have been better served by the city sitting on its hands and doing nothing. But as a resident, my neighbors and I are all potentially better served by the changes the mayor and her staff are now working on. And I applaud their work on this issue.

The mayor stated that she will be reporting to the city council on these changes soon. I hope it is very soon. I look forward to hearing more details on these changes and hope that the city council will work quickly and efficiently with the mayor to improve this vital city service which impacts every resident’s life.

This is definitely not a reason for us to dance in the streets. After all the city is simply attempting to improve a failing service that should have been overhauled years ago. But we should take notice that positive changes are on the way.

These changes will not only hopefully improve this vital service but also rebuild the confidence some residents may have lost in our municipality.

Carlos Vidal is an at-large candidate for Waltham City Council

@carlos4waltham

www.carlosforwaltham.com