Why Does D.C. Suck So Bad at Snow Removal?

After last weekend’s snowstorm, streets in cities across the East Coast are crowded with dirty snow piles that squeeze pedestrians into single-file corridors and force them into gross half-frozen puddle swamps at intersections. But of the major metros, only Washington, D.C., closed its schools through Wednesday, finally reopening on Thursday with a delayed start time — all this despite receiving just six or so inches (plus, to be fair, a treacherous coating of ice on top). And, judging by accounts on the ground, the city remains tricky to navigate by car or foot. This isn’t D.C.’s first such debacle in recent years; the capital notoriously sucks at getting snow off its streets. (It is also home to an outsize number of complainers per capita: editors and columnists, who have been airing their thoughts and posting pictures of unplowed roads and uncleared sidewalks, letting everyone know of the wintry inconveniences.)

Already, the City Council has met to address the issue, promising that new heavy equipment is being deployed while noting that alleys will not be cleared until at least next week. To understand why D.C. is struggling so badly yet again, I spoke with Joe Bishop-Henchman, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in northeast D.C., who has been venting his frustration about the storm online.

What are you seeing in your neighborhood or on your commute that is not up to snuff?
This storm has been unusual in two ways. It wasn’t just snow, it was the layer of sleet that created a nice little layer of ice on everything. Snow brooms and plastic shovels are not going to cut through the ice. You need metal shovels. We need bulldozers and tractors and heavy plows. Somebody was breaking the ice next door to me with an ax yesterday. And for the next week, the weather is staying below freezing — the sun is not helping us in the way that it normally has.

But I think it’s also uncovering that maybe we weren’t as resilient as we thought, that we didn’t really have the equipment to deal with this, and that we’re not effectively communicating expectations about how long this is going to take.

What agency is responsible for snow removal in D.C., and why is it struggling?
It falls under the Department of Public Works, and they have a whole snow-removal section of their agency. Snow removal is almost $7.4 million, up from a $5.2 million budget in 2023.

DPW as a whole has 1,544 employees, and they were describing at least publicly that they have 500 snowplows ready. But a lot of communities have a snowplow tracker app, and on Tuesday, I counted all the snowplows in operation citywide. It was 21 versus the 500 they say they have. On Wednesday afternoon, the number is 285 out on the road. So whatever this is, it’s not a lack of resources — or, at least, exclusively a lack of financial resources problem.

What I suspect is going on here is that the plows got sent out against the ice, and they were ineffective against it. A lot of the plows are light trucks with blades on the front. So they had to come up with a plan B. I think people would be understanding of that — if they were told that’s what was going on.
Instead, it has been three days of the same line, which is that main streets are now passable and we’re working on clearing residential neighborhoods. But it’s not really matching what people are seeing.

How are the sidewalks, which are required to be shoveled by individual businesses and homeowners, correct?
They’re mostly impassable. Walking around on our daily errands requires climbing over snowbanks. And in the alleys, the city has kind of abandoned all responsibility for clearing those, which is going to have an impact on us for trash collection very soon.

We’ve received really no guidance on that front. If there’s a plan, it’s not being communicated. Maybe they’re coming up with the plan right now, but I think we got close to the sun doing our work for us, and it’s not going to happen this time.

This may be a dumb question, but why can’t the National Guard be deputized as snow-removal muscle?
I’ve seen on social media that if there’s a National Guard group nearby, they will help out with stuck cars and things like that. But the National Guard deployment in D.C. is up to the president. We don’t really have any say as local elected officials. And indeed, why they’re here right now is a presidential directive. And they may not have the equipment, because as I said, the little plastic shovels aren’t going to work in this. So just because they’re here doesn’t mean they can solve this problem.

Do you think this storm could help create some policy changes to avoid a future three-day school closure?
I think what people are going to say is, This is just a once-in-a-generation thing, the snow-and-sleet combination. But maybe it reveals that we didn’t have resilient planning for this, and maybe we don’t have the right equipment on standby with contractors when we may need it, and maybe we need to rethink this. The approach we currently have with sidewalks and stoops and alleys — expecting regular people to do them — doesn’t always get the job done.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.