Fenty: Crews Need to Focus More on Side Streets

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's first decision about the first sizable snowstorm of his administration came at 5 a.m. yesterday when he delayed the opening of city government for two hours. Then he canceled his usual 6 a.m. run and shoveled his sidewalk with 6-year-old son Andrew.

It was mostly business as usual after that. Fenty (D) met a D.C. Council member, sat for an interview with a triathlon magazine and had lunch with a newspaper columnist.

Meanwhile, his transportation department was dealing with a mix of snow, sleet and rain that left many major streets filled with piles of slushy glop well past the morning rush hour. Although the city deployed a full crew of 450 workers and 150 plows, officials said the unpredictable storm delayed their ability to get started in removing the slush.

Although some thoroughfares such as Massachusetts Avenue in Northwest and Good Hope Road in Southeast looked fairly clear by midday, others such as 16th Street NW, Georgia Avenue NW and some downtown blocks were snowy enough to strand a handful of Metro buses and leave commuters fuming. Side streets in residential neighborhoods were even worse.

Yesterday afternoon, Florine Kellogg, 53, a receptionist in the accounting department at the National Mediation Board, expressed frustration as she sloshed through snow at 13th and K streets NW to reach her bus for home in Brightwood Park. When she left for work about 7:30 a.m., roads were a mess, she said.

"This morning, coming down, my neighborhood was really bad," Kellogg said. "The trucks hadn't come through."

Removing snow quickly and efficiently is a key test for a mayor, one of those mundane but critical tasks -- along with picking up trash and filling potholes -- that can make or break a political career. Fenty, 36, who campaigned on his reputation as the king of constituent services while serving as the Ward 4 council member, set a high bar for himself before taking office.

Yet Fenty, who had made a point to be seen publicly as often as possible during his first month in office, did not schedule a public appearance until after reporters pressed him to answer questions. Shortly before 3 p.m., he stopped by a D.C. salt dome in Northeast.

"I take all criticism seriously," said Fenty, who added that he had visited a shelter for the homeless and had his security detail drive him around Wards 6, 7 and 8 to do spot-checks.

"We're always shooting for an A-plus," he said. "We're not going to stop until the citizens give us an A-plus. When it comes to snow, the customer is always right."

This morning, with major roads clear but many side streets plowed partially if at all, Fenty said the city could have done better. "We're not satisfied," Fenty said on WRC-TV (Channel 4)'s weekly Ask the Mayor program. "Although we have a pretty strong team, there probably are some adjustments to be made."

In an interview with Washington Post Radio (1500 AM/107.7 FM), Fenty said crews need to focus more on side streets. Officials should have realized sooner that the predicted ice storm in fact was dumping snow and sleet on the city, Fenty added, and told trucks to stop salting and start plowing.

Fenty's top deputy, City Administrator Dan Tangherlini, spent six years as the transportation chief under Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D). Although the city suffered several shutdowns under former mayor Marion Barry (D), Tangherlini's crew developed a more reliable snow removal plan.

Tangherlini said yesterday that he and D.C. transportation chief Emeka C. Moneme, who served under Tangherlini in the Williams administration, went to bed expecting major icing, only to wake to find the storm dumping a few inches of snow instead.

Tangherlini and Moneme gave conflicting accounts of the city's strategy. Moneme said he told crews to switch from salting to plowing around 4 a.m., just after the heavier flakes began to fall; Tangherlini said most workers were asked to delay plowing until the storm ended, after 6 a.m.

The idea, Tangherlini said, was to give the salt a chance to do its work. If plowing began immediately, the city risked removing the salt with the first layer of snow and allowing subsequent snow and rain to freeze, making streets slick and dangerous.

"You only get one shot at this stuff," said Tangherlini, who spent most of yesterday in closed budget meetings. "A better decision might have been made public-relations wise, but technically and long term, the right moves were made."

Tell that to John Kelly, shoveling his stoop around 10 a.m. on S Street NW, near 18th Street in Dupont Circle.

"They probably won't get here until April," he said sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Metro reported several buses getting stuck near Farragut Square, in Mount Pleasant and Adams Morgan, even near Fenty's home in Crestwood.

Many of the city's streets appeared partially cleared by midday, with slush building up on the sides. Officials had opted not to declare a snow emergency, which would have forced cars to park off the street and given crews a clearer shot.

Not everyone was unhappy with the city's performance. Council members said they received few complaints. And Jamila Johnson, 31, who was walking her sons Cameron, 6, and Jordan, 11, back to their home at 11th and O streets NW, said the city satisfied her expectations.

"The streets are really good," she said, "but some of the side streets are still a mess."

Staff writer Debbi Wilgoren contributed to this report.