CINCINNATI — The weather forecast shows that Punxsutawney Phil was right — winter is far from over.
The Tri-State has been hit with multiple snowstorms over the past few weeks, and more snow is expected on Wednesday.
The City of Cincinnati announced their plows will roll out onto city streets at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
WCPO 9 News sat down with council member Seth Walsh, who filed a motion to review and look for improvements to the city's snow response.
Walsh told us he's been in contact with several residents who waited days for plows during January's big storm and have told him they see plows much more regularly.
"We're going to have to hope that this continues, this trend line continues, and the city continues to react and adapt in a positive direction," Walsh said.
Learn more about the city's snow preparations here:
A spokesperson for the city informed us that of the 80 plow-equipped vehicles in the city's fleet, 21 were out of service as of Tuesday afternoon. The city reported that four vehicles were damaged from the January storm, while the other 17 suffered wear and tear in the most recent storm. Several of those trucks should be back in order by the end of the day.
In January, we reported that a quarter of the fleet was out of service following the massive snowfall. The trucks run 24 hours a day, and drivers work 12-hour shifts during storms.
Walsh said that trucks wearing down is expected, especially because of the constant workload.
"That is the equivalent of driving from here to Jacksonville and back, twice a day," Walsh said.
As Department of Public Services crews make their way through Cincinnati streets, Walsh said that finding long-term ways to improve how the city responds will take time.
“A lot of the changes, unfortunately, I don’t think will happen till next snowfall, like next year," said Walsh.
Walsh commended the work of leaders within the Department of Public Services, Traffic & Road Operations and the Office of Performance and Data Analytics, who each were involved in a committee meeting to discuss the snow response in January.
"They have been the consummate public services, they're committed, clearly, to making this better," said Walsh.
Walsh had previously stated to WCPO and city staff that he believes the city came up short in its initial response and wants to make sure that Cincinnati is always prepared, no matter how many inches of snow is in the forecast.
