Heavy Equipment Mobilized for Weekend Storm in Braintree

One of the steps Braintree officials took in preparation for this winter was to raise its per-hour snow removal rates and bring in six additional front-loaders.

After last winter's blizzards challenged the efforts of cities and towns across the region, Braintree brought in the heavier contractor equipment, added one more DPW snow plow for its main roads and continued to fine-tune its emergency communications plan.

“We’re always making adjustments to see how we can perform better," Mayor Joseph Sullivan said Friday. "Every storm is different. The timing of the storms have an impact as well.”

This weekend's storm will dump at least some snow on Braintree – forecasts ranged Friday from 3-6 inches to 6-10, depending on how the storm moves – and Sullivan said the town is prepared.

The town has not yet declared a snow emergency. If it does sometime Saturday, when the snow is scheduled to hit in the early afternoon, then a shelter will be set up at the Department of Elder Affairs on Cleveland Avenue and a storm communications center will be established at the police station.

For snow removal, the plan is to have eight plow drivers (up from seven last year) who work for the town taking care of the main roads. The rest of Braintree is split into 27 neighborhood routes for contractors, who have a map of their routes in their trucks and five DPW foremen overseeing them, Sullivan said.

The town also has three sidewalk plows. 

Sullivan reminds residents to not park overnight in the municipal lots in Braintree's business districts, but that if they cannot get driveway space, they can park at Sunset Lake or at Watson Park. 

The town has yet to make a decision on on-street parking Saturday night.

"It's a weekend storm so that will give us time Sunday to clear the [school] parking lots," Sullivan said.

The mayor said he listened to feedback from residents based on last year's storm performance, and said that while there is much that is out of the town's control when it comes to timing and severity, Braintree is better prepared now for nasty winter weather than ever before.

“We will get to every street," Sullivan said. "We will get to every neighborhood as fast and efficiently as we can.”