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Wheat Ridge citizen concerned about icy roads

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Contributed by: Seth Davis on 12/13/2006

Editor's note: The letter by Candy Costanen was written in response to Jerry DiTullio's column on page 26 of the Dec. 7 YourHub.com print edition in which DiTullio discussed Wheat Ridge's policies about snow and ice control. DiTullio's letter responds to Costanen's concerns on the issue.Click here to read DiTullio's column.

Mayor DiTullio, I was appalled to read your statements in YourHub.com today, Dec. 7, on page 26W.

I am a long-time resident of Wheat Ridge (for over 30 years). You conveniently added the public works telephone number twice in this article, but not yours.
I found our city has only four snowplows, and my concern is our city has funds that could be allocated to increase services for everyone's safety.

Many of our side streets have steep inlets/outlets to major traveled streets (38th and 44th Avenues, notably) that can cause accidents by sliding through to these main streets. I am so very concerned mostly for our elderly, pedestrians and younger, inexperienced drivers.

I do realize most of our snowstorms are light and melt quickly, but is it worth taking a chance with our citizens' lives? I think not. Many side streets have large trees and that inhibits the melt. It was insulting to me that part of our city is maintained by Lakewood and CDOT - what does that say?

We all pay our taxes and trust our elected officials to provide the reasonable safety precautions for all of us.

I am very encouraged by the addition of 10 police officers to keep us safe. Unfortunately, I had the need for their assistance several times in the last two years and they were at my home immediately. I even joked I knew the whole force by their first names and they probably knew mine. Our fire department is exceptional. Thank God I haven't had the need of their services, but I have seen them in action.

Let's allocate some of our tax dollars to more snowplows and quality employees to operate the much-needed equipment. We deserve to have the best.

Oh by the way, I voted for you!
Your concerned resident of our wonderful city,
Candy Costanten
Wheat Ridge

City has great track record of keeping streets free of ice

Hi Candy,

Wow ... I'm surprised at your comments. The article was supposed to be informative, not appalling. CDOT maintains the streets that they own, such as Wadsworth Blvd., Kipling, Sheridan, I-70, etc., that run through Wheat Ridge.
Sections of 26th and 32nd Ave. are in Lakewood, and Lakewood maintains those sections of the streets with their tax dollars and staff.

The public works department has recommended the staffing level and equipment to city council based on the size of our city and past history. Safety has not been compromised. Wheat Ridge has always been very good at getting the job done during snow storms and uses environmentally safe products for de-icing.

Once again, I would recommend you call the public works department for more detailed information of their duties at the number I listed in the article.

Jerry DiTullio
Mayor of Wheat Ridge

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Seth Davis

Seth Davis has posted 1404 stories and 211 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Seth Davis's average story rating is 4.69.

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