OPINION: Is there room for innovation in Anchorage’s snow response?

I paused my snowblower and watched as my neighbor worked to clear the parking spaces in front of his house. Another neighbor was working his snowplow down the alleyway so he had access to his rear carport. The image got me to thinking. We are doing a pretty quick job of moving the snow. Our street, alley and sidewalks would soon be clear after the previous night’s heavy snowfall. So why isn’t this occurring across the city? Why aren’t more people out with their snowblowers or shovels?

It used to be a hallmark of American communities for all able residents to lend a hand during times of emergency. Our country has a long history with the concept of volunteer firefighters. A facility and equipment are made available for trained volunteers to use when a fire event disrupts the community. So, as the only major metropolitan area on the North American continent located in the sub-Arctic, it seems quite reasonable to develop emergency responses unique to our particular set of circumstances, such as six-month winters beset with big snowfalls.

One could imagine how a livable winter city would have responded to the recent onslaught of snow. There would be a flurry of activity throughout the city as citizenry mobilized to face a unique and impactful weather event. Local neighborhood “snowfighters” (trained volunteers participating in the Municipal Parks Department’s Snow Blower Loan Program) would be a rapid response team focused on neighborhood streets, alleys, sidewalks and trails. This robust outreach to citizen engagement would enable the municipality to spend local public tax revenue on the more important higher-traffic streets and roads. Citizen volunteers are tackling the low volume travel ways, sidewalks and trails. Improved coordination between residents and local public employees results in an efficient and effective emergency snow response system that quickly deals with the heavy snowfall.

Could there be room for innovation in how we as a community deal with unique snow events? More big snowfalls are quite likely. A quick pilot program could be put in place this winter, as we still have several months left in the season. This could be an experiment so that folks could try some different techniques, work out kinks while getting an initial assessment of the challenges associated with such a partnership approach to unique snowfall events.

I turn up my collar against the windblown snow and engage the snowblower gears. We are almost done with our part of the neighborhood. I wonder if what I see happening on my street could be repeated across the community? Maybe the folks making decisions would be open to testing innovative approaches to the existing snow emergency response system. If so, I see a group of neighbors in South Fairview who would gladly step forward and serve as volunteer snowfighters.

Allen Kemplen serves as president of the Fairview Community Council.

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