Jan. 21—Representatives from the U.S. Postal Service and trash and recycling hauler Republic Services told The Dominion Post on Tuesday that they continue to provide service to the best of their ability while prioritizing employee safety.
Both said snow and ice-covered roads and bitter cold have impacted operations, but didn’t specify to what degree or when service may return to normal.
“The safety of our employees is our top priority. While recent severe weather conditions have created challenges for us, we’re delivering as much mail as we can, as safely as possible, ” USPS Strategic Communications Specialist Susan Wright said, noting postal employees make every reasonable effort to deliver mail despite difficult weather conditions.
The postal service issued a press release reminding customers that they can make things much easier for letter carriers by clearing snow and ice in the area around their mailboxes, including steps, walkways, porches and street approaches.
Within the city limits of Morgantown, it is a requirement that property owners clear their driveways as well as the sidewalks adjacent to their property of snow and ice within 24 hours after a weather event.
If more than 24 hours have passed and sidewalks have not been cleared, that can be reported to the city using the Citizen Request System on the city’s website, morgantownwv.gov, or the Morgantown 311 app.
If you are physically unable to clear your sidewalk and have no neighbor, family or friend who can help you, contact the Morgantown Code Enforcement Department at 304-284-7401 for assistance.
As for trash and recycling, Republic Services said it is continually monitoring the roads.
“Recent weather in the region has caused service delays in many areas due to dangerous, icy road conditions and other potential hazards, ” a media relations specialist explained. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our drivers and the communities we serve, which is why our local teams are monitoring the roads closely and coordinating with public works and snow removal partners daily to determine what areas can be safely serviced. We appreciate the community’s patience and are working to resume service in all affected areas as soon as we are safely able to do so.”
Republic didn’t respond to questions about how missed pickups would impact customer bills, if at all.
According to the city of Morgantown’s “Snow Plan Operation, ” crews begin treating priority one streets — major arterials and high-traffic collector streets not maintained by the DOH — prior to any expected snowfall. They begin plowing when snow begins to accumulate on the pavement. After the priority one streets have been cleared, crews move on to priority two and three streets.
The plan states, “Crews continue to work around the clock until the snowfall has stopped and all priority streets are plowed and treated to an acceptable level.”
A map showing what the city considers to be priority one, two and three streets is available on the city’s website by searching “Snow Plan Operation.”
According to the West Virginia Division of Highways, its crews prioritized interstates, expressways and all other U.S. and state routes in the national highway system. High-traffic county routes can also be deemed a top priority.
Priority two routes are all other school bus routes that are not considered priority one.
Priority three routes are the remaining routes, not including park and forest routes.
Priority four routes are park and forest routes.
Once priority one routes are deemed in accessible condition, WVDOH operators move to the secondary routes