Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance was in the studio on Tuesday evening discussing the response thus far to snow in Anchorage.
‘We’ve got to make it work’: Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance talks about snow response and remote learning for studentsANCHORAGE, Alaska - As light snow turned to heavy flakes Monday night, Anchorage quickly was covered in snow, and then more snow, plus more snow, and then snow again.
It was a record-breaking amount of snow. Snow-covered homes, sidewalks, streets, and parking lots. Children forced into remote learning because of the snow, posing for pictures with snowmen.“Anchorage is a winter city,” Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said during a live interview with Alaska’s News Source, “and this was really a business-as-usual kind of snowstorm. Teams have been out all night and all day, clearing the snow, and they’ve done a great job. Plowing was a key issue during the race for mayor, one where LaFrance hit hard against the former Mayor Dave Bronson.His administration struggled to keep up with snowstorms that left neighborhood roads treacherous for weeks and meant remote learning days for students because buses couldn’t safely pick up children. Bronson defended his record and declared a snow emergency, which allowed him to take emergency actions including hiring extra crews who worked for private companies. Since taking office, LaFrance has warned of aging snow removal equipment and a shrinking staff not being paid competitive wages. “We’re making good progress when it comes to filling those operator positions that were vacant and we have included a wage increase in our budget for 2025 so that those positions are more competitive,” LaFrance said.“We’ve got to make it work and you know we’re doing everything we can to prepare in advance for the next snowstorm,” LaFrance said. LaFrance says her administration has been planning for winter since July, which includes increasing communication with people in Anchorage. “Preparation is essential and so is teamwork and we need to continue to work together,” LaFrance said, “and also to keep in mind that it’s going to take some time. We’ve ordered new equipment, we’ve got to make some investments, we’ve neglected our assets so it’s going to take some time and we’ve got more work to do.” LaFrance was asked if her administration considered this first go-round of snow removal a success considering the Anchorage School District switched to remote learning leaving many parents either working from home, or calling out to help their children with online assignments. “We want to work with ASD to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep the schools open because we know what a big impact that is to families and the economy and we’re going to focus on muni roads and clearing snow from those roads and taking feedback and continuing to improve,” LaFrance said.A tiny house village for homeless seniors aims to open within weeks ‘He was just a big-hearted person’: Grieving mother speaks after her son was shot and killed in unsolved Anchorage homicidePreparations in Anchorage ahead of the storm
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