D.C. Public Schools Still Closed as City Struggles To Clear Roads and Sidewalks

As the district's struggle to clear snow drags on, the case for public infrastructure maintenance becomes weaker.

Libertarians are often asked, "Without government, who will pave the roads?" After the weekend's winter storm, libertarians may ask: "When will the government clear the roads?"

Late Saturday night and into early Sunday morning, Washington, D.C., received a combination of "4 to 7 inches of snow" and "up to 4 inches of icy pellets," the combination of which had a water content "comparable to the contents of a 20-inch blizzard," explains The Washington Post. By Wednesday morning, the D.C. Snow Team map showed 46 snow plows still on the job. 

The D.C. city government's inability to clear roads and sidewalks and to reopen schools within 24 hours is confusing, considering the $192 million budget of the city's Department of Public Works (DPW). One of the DPW's stated responsibilities is to ensure that "the District is safe to navigate after the end of a snow storm and can resume normal government services and business commerce." The DPW's snow removal budget totals over $7.3 million, up $2.1 million from FY 2023, most of which was allocated to increase its snow plow and snow removal budget. It seems $7.3 million is apparently insufficient to clear the city's 364 miles of alleys, 1,495 miles of sidewalks, and over 1,100 miles of roadway.

Joe Bishop-Henchman, advisory neighborhood commissioner representing the Eckington neighborhood in northeast D.C., lamented on X that, by midday Tuesday, alleys "seem to have given up on completely," many sidewalks and crosswalks were "impassable," and "a lot of residential streets [had] not even passed once." Around this time, another X user shared a video showing that "the roads and access to the sidewalks haven't really been touched" outside Italian restaurant Cucina Morini on 4th and I Street.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tacitly acknowledged the gaps in the city's snow removal services by thanking over 600 D.C. residents for clearing "walkways at 100+ homes of seniors and residents with disabilities" as part of Snow Team Hero. This program "pairs volunteers with residents who need help shoveling walkways after a snowstorm." 

Later Tuesday afternoon, photos were shared on X showing the well-traveled intersection of Q Street and Connecticut Avenue still coated in dirty wintery slush. Bowser announced Tuesday evening that "most main roads in DC are now passable" and that "side and residential roads are our focus." Right around this time, a D.C. resident shared a video apparently showing a DPW snowplow stuck in the Eckington neighborhood. 

NBC Washington reported Wednesday morning that "residents are encountering problems as they navigate uncleared side streets." Outside of Union Station, only "one lane wide" is plowed "each way," according to Bishop-Henchman. Three days after the snowfall, D.C. public schools were still closed. 

Given the millions of taxpayer dollars granted to the DPW to address such situations, it's a wonder why D.C. is struggling to clear its roads and reopen schools, especially when New York City has managed to do so. For now, D.C. residents must hope that public schools will be open tomorrow. If this week is representative of the DPW's snow removal capacity, D.C. residents should brace themselves to be homebound next week in the event of another snowstorm.