One Storm, Two Very Different Mondays

On Monday, January 26, 2026, Buffalo was digging out from a storm that dropped nearly a foot of snow across Western New York. It was a big test for the city's revamped snow-fighting approach. Mayor Sean Ryan had lined up more than 150 private contractors days ahead of time, and about 27 pieces of the city's own equipment were out clearing streets. "Every city resident deserves to have their streets plowed," Ryan said, and he promised every street in the city would be plowed by Monday night.

In North Buffalo, Brian Weick watched front loaders and dump trucks scoop the snow off his street and haul it away. Normally, he said, the snow just gets plowed to the side. Not this time. "This is shocking. Look, we'd never seen this," he told WKBW. "Our taxpayer dollars are at work." What really caught his eye was the plows themselves: "their blades are actually touching the ground now."

Over on Baitz, Sandy Chilano was living a different winter. She had a doctor's appointment to get to. She called 311 on Monday and was told her street was taken care of. It wasn't. "We got out of the spot, we got stuck in the street," she said. She had to cancel the appointment, and she didn't see a plow until Tuesday morning, after she'd called WKBW and the mayor's office. "It's just the point of don't say you're gonna do something and don't do it," she said.

On Roosevelt Avenue, near Bailey Avenue, a man named Melvin got stuck too. "I haven't seen a plow at all," he said. "I deal with this every year when we get this kind of snow."

The city said it had 170 pieces of equipment deployed, with crews working overnight, and plenty of neighbors did see their streets cleared faster than usual. But if you live on a side street, you know Chilano's and Melvin's stories by heart. Keep them in mind, because a lot of the city's new winter snow plan is aimed right at streets like theirs.

What Landed on Thursday, October 22

The Ryan administration released the City of Buffalo's 2026-2027 Winter Snow Plan on Thursday, October 22. "Buffalo residents deserve reliable service on their streets, and being better prepared for winter is a big part of fixing the basics," Ryan said.

The biggest number in it is the money for hired help. The city budgeted $2.7 million for contracted snow removal, up from $580,000 in last year's plan. That's nearly five times as much. It pays for extra front-end loaders and dump trucks to scoop snow up and haul it out of neighborhoods when there's more on the ground than plows can handle, the same kind of work Brian Weick saw on his street in January.

Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp laid out why that matters. Once snow's coming down at more than three inches an hour, he said, it's "impossible to keep up" with traditional plows alone. Municipalities, the county and the state all have to lean on contractors plus their own dump trucks and high lifts to scoop the snow and haul it out.

The plan came in late. It was due to the Common Council by April 1, and the Ryan administration turned in its first snow plan more than 200 days after that deadline. Swanekamp told WKBW snow removal has been a priority since the administration took office. "Not a week has gone by that I haven't had some meeting where we're investigating how to improve snow removal services," he said.

Little Tractors for Tight Streets

If you live on one of Buffalo's narrowest streets, this part's for you. The city bought five small John Deere tractors fitted with big snow blowers. They're meant for the tight side streets where a full-size plow just doesn't have room to maneuver.

The plan goes after the other big side-street headache, too: parked cars. The Parking Department has added people and tow trucks to deal with vehicles blocking snow-clearing, and plow drivers can now reach the Parking Department with the touch of a button when a car's in their way.

Side-street neighbors have plenty to say about all this. "The side streets don't get done. The main streets get done once," West Side resident Michael Lockwood told WIVB after the plan came out. "Yeah, we definitely need more people out there on the streets and more plows." David Hall had a request of his own. "Try not to get to the East Side so late," he said. "Seems like we're the last ones to get plowed."

There's even something in here for people on bikes. After residential plowing's done, crews are supposed to clear protected bike lanes and off-street bike paths, and the city's Engineering Division will put plows on pickup trucks and smaller vehicles to get it done.

The Plow Count Problem

Here's the tough part. Swanekamp said the high lifts, the new tractors and the contractor money will help supplement the city's own plow fleet, and that fleet needs the help. When WKBW got a look inside the Broadway Barns as crews made their final preparations for winter, Swanekamp said the city had 14 or 15 plows ready to go, with more being set up. Ryan has said the city needs about 40 working plows to run the snow plan he wants.

New plows are coming, just not right away. The city has 10 new plow trucks on order, and six of them could be available in the second half of the winter. The plows ordered in July won't be here for the start of the season because of manufacturing lead times. "Worst-case scenario, they'll come in February. Hopefully, they will come a little earlier, so maybe January or late December," Swanekamp said.

That delay had people worried long before the plan came out. When the plan was 150 days past due, a city spokesperson told WIVB, "We don't expect to receive the plows in time for the beginning of winter." Ellicott District Council Member Leah Halton-Pope said her bigger worry wasn't the missing plan. It was whether the plows would be ready. "So who's going to suffer?" she asked.

Long term, the city wants to keep a working fleet of 34 dual-axle trucks and replace them on a five-year cycle. That takes people, too, and Swanekamp didn't sugarcoat it. "Staffing is not where I would love it to be," he told BTPM, noting union negotiations are ongoing. For now, he said, the city has enough plow drivers for the equipment it has. If the fleet grows to where the city wants it, he said, being able to attract and compete for workers will be essential.

Blades That Get Down to the Pavement

Remember Brian Weick noticing the blades touching the ground? Blades get some attention in this plan. Two new kinds of plow blades are being piloted this winter, both designed to get right down to the road surface and scrape off that slick inch of slush that usually hangs around on city roads. One of them, the REACT blade, is spring-loaded and split into segments so it can stay close to the pavement even over bumps.

Swanekamp said the city will watch how the new blades handle Buffalo's roads and how well they hold up over the season.

Salt, Maps and Knowing When Your Street Got Plowed

Salt's lined up. The city's aiming for at least 25,000 tons of road salt, it's already taken its first deliveries, and it's spreading purchases across more than one supplier to cut the risk of a supply disruption.

Think back to Sandy Chilano calling 311 and hearing her street was handled. The new plan uses GPS data in a new mapping system so Public Works staff get more accurate, timely information about where snow-clearing equipment is and how far along it's gotten. Crews are moving from paper maps to digital plow routes. There's also an upgraded public map that shows when city crews were last recorded on individual streets, with lane-by-lane breakdowns.

During storms, the plan sets up daily operational briefings and situation reports. It lets the Emergency Operations Center activate before a formal emergency declaration, and it adds University at Albany Mesonet forecasting information to help the city get ready.

If the Big One Comes

Nobody in the 716 needs a reminder about the 2022 Christmas Blizzard. Swanekamp said a lesson from that storm is now written into the plan. If the city's overwhelmed in a major storm, the plan formalizes contingency arrangements with state and county partners, including splitting Buffalo into three sectors, with each municipality or agency responsible for clearing its own zone. Swanekamp said that's how the city finally got dug out after the 2022 blizzard. In what he called a National Weather Service "purple extreme storm," the city would start working with its partners to divide up the city.

The plan also calls for working through Erie County's Community Organizations Active in Disaster network, so community groups can help get critical information to neighbors, including immigrant and non-English-speaking communities.

"Responding to winter weather is one of the most important things we do as a City Government," Public Works Commissioner Nolan Skipper said. "This plan showcases the huge amount of work our entire team has done over the past year to ensure we're prepared to keep Buffalo residents safe this winter season."

What It Means for Your Street

The plan keeps the goal of at least one plow pass on every residential street within 24 hours after a snow event ends. Crews take care of primary and secondary streets first, including bus routes and roads to emergency facilities, then move into the neighborhoods. The plan says it straight: continuing snowfall, extreme conditions and cars blocking streets can all push that timeline back.

You've got a part in this, too. Follow posted parking restrictions, keep an eye on city announcements when the weather turns, and sign up for BUFFALERT by texting your ZIP code to 38276 or visiting buffalony.gov/buffalert. The full plan is posted on the city's snow and winter storm resources page.

Ryan administration officials are set to meet with the Common Council over the coming weeks to talk through the plan. Swanekamp says the city's already set if a mild or moderate storm hits.

The real review won't happen at City Hall, though. It'll happen the first time the snow piles up on Baitz, on Roosevelt, and on every other side street in Buffalo. Sandy Chilano put the standard plainly last January: don't say you're going to do something and then not do it. This winter, the plan gets its chance to keep its word.