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Syracuse approves more funding for sidewalk snow removal amid active winter

a snow-covered sidewalk with footprints marking how many people have struggled to walk along the path
Scott Willis
/
WAER News
Syracuse’s return to a snowier winter has kept sidewalk plows busy, prompting the Common Council to approve an additional $500,000 for snow removal after exhausting the initial funding.

A return to a more typical snowy winter in Syracuse means crews have been busy clearing city sidewalks. Common councilors have approved another half million dollars for sidewalk snow removal after already spending all of its first half million. Chief Operating Officer Conor Muldoon told councilors it’s been a busy winter.

"We ask our contractors to go out when there's three inches of snow," Muldoon said. "So we've had about two feet of snow more this season than we had in prior years, but there's been a lot of events of three inches here and there. We've deployed 16 times.”

And that’s with at least another month of winter to go. Over the past three years, Muldoon says they’ve deployed 10 to 13 times for the entire season. The city began clearing sidewalks in 2019, mainly near schools, and every year has added more routes to include community centers, medical centers, and other destinations frequented by pedestrians.