How does Wellesley figure out which streets to sand?

We had a reader inquiry recently about this, so we put the question to Wellesley’s Department of Public Works and here’s what the town’s Park & Highway Division had to say (the particular inquiry had to do with why one road was not sanded during the last snowstorm while another one was):

“Our Treatment routes are determined by many factors including amount of traffic, dangerous turns, grade of the roadway and other factors.  Due to budgetary constraints and environmental consciousness, there are many roadways which do not receive treatment unless there is a specific need.  Anytime a dangerous condition is noted by a resident, Police or DPW staff, a roadway is treated immediately.  Another consideration for treatment of any street is that if there is no traffic on the roadway, salt, sand and any other material used to treat the roadway is relatively ineffective because it melts through the snow/ice and never gets worked into the snow/ice to make it effective.  Thus a substantial amount of material could be wasted.”

In the case of the specific roads that a reader asked about (Belair was not sanded, Ridge Hill Farm was), neither road is on the DPW list of regularly treated roadways, but Ridge Hill Farm Rd. is a more likely candidate for sanding because of its curvy and inclined nature.

So, it sounds like you should contact the DPW if you think your road requires attention during Wednesday’s expected storm.

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