With an urgency that rose as temperatures fell, weather forecasters in the nation’s Mid-Atlantic states warned that the newly forming Winter Storm Jonas could be one for the record books.
And they were right.
Winter Storm Jonas delivered crippling snows to the Eastern Seaboard. In fact, from Jan. 22-24, 2016, the storm produced record-setting snowfall totals and cost state and local governments around the Baltimore region more than $35 million to clean up. After the snow was all said and done “Jonas” became the single largest recorded snow storm in Maryland’s history.
For most, the decision on what to do during this weather event was easy — go home, stay inside and hope the electricity stays on. But the public officials charged with running transit systems remained hard at work throughout the storm.
For people like Paul Comfort, administrator/CEO of the Maryland Transit Administration, the storm presented not only a challenge but an opportunity for his more than 3,300-employee workforce to shine.
The MTA took several proactive steps to provide a safe and fast recovery of its service operations. These steps allowed MTA to fully restore service in only 96 hours after the storm ended. This forward-thinking approach enabled MTA to not experience any significant storm-related injuries or accidents. That’s quite a feat given the record-setting nature of this storm. In addition, MTA’s strategic positioning of police officers and resources led to no crime on its system during the storm.
MTA made safety its guiding principle in every decision. Before, during and after the storm, the MTA coordinated efforts with its regional transit partner, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro), in both their pre-announcement of closings and in a free recovery day after the storm.
“As soon as we began to develop our storm preparation and recovery plan, I worked from the perspective that my team would under-promise and over-deliver,” said Comfort from his downtown Baltimore office. “When we saw this storm would be one for the record books, I knew we couldn’t make a lot of predictions and promises. Our performance was going to have to speak for itself and it did. I am proud of what my team accomplished.”
The MTA Represents Far More Than City Bus Service
As one of the largest multi-modal transit agencies in the nation operating not only local bus service, but light rail, metro subway, mobility/paratransit service, commuter bus and MARC train commuter rail service that stretches as far as West Virginia, the MTA is truly a connector of people and places in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Comfort said it was that wide breadth of MTA services and their importance to the region that led him to employ outside-of-the-box thinking and strategies that had been untried in MTA storm planning.
The 96-hour recovery time still brings a smile to Comfort’s face weeks after the storm.
“It was a pleasure to work with such dedicated leaders at the MTA who focused all their efforts on weathering the storm and a safe, fast recovery,” he said. “After all, we had to tackle nearly three feet of snow and winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour. But, we did it and it was a fantastic team effort.”
Thomas Drozt Was the Team Captain
MTA Operations Control Center Director Thomas Drozt was assigned as “Storm Commander” and led a team of department heads that stayed at the MTA’s Operations Control Center (OCC) throughout the storm, providing eyes-in-the-sky monitoring of every aspect of the recovery.
Drozt stayed at the OCC 89 consecutive hours. Metro subway supervisor Leonard Stepney Jr., stayed 81 hours. And, more than 20 MTA employees stayed more than 48 hours to ensure the emergency snow plan was executed effectively. In other words, all hands were on deck for the duration.
In the OCC conference room, five computer monitors battled with telephones and television sets for room on the large center desk. The walls were covered with maps of the entire metro subway system with stations and train crossovers marked in red. The same was done for the local bus network where maps were posted on walls across the room.
“We kind of did it the old school way so we could all keep track of the shutdown,” Drozt said. “We were all engaged as we were constantly updating what was happening on the streets. It really comes down to planning. The day (Friday) before the governor declared the state of emergency; we were lining up resources and held some pre-planning meetings to make sure that all of the mode supervisors were reading from the same script.
“You have to make good use of the time you have before the problem hits or you will be lost” Drozt advised. “You can’t get those hours back in terms of planning where people and equipment should be deployed.”
Before the first flake of snow had hit the ground in Baltimore on Friday (Jan. 22), Comfort had his media relations team organize a press conference in the lobby of the MTA’s downtown headquarters to announce a phased shutdown of service on all travel modes for Saturday (Jan. 23) and Sunday (Jan. 24), with a projected return to service on Monday (Jan. 25).
The idea was to get all passengers, personnel and equipment off the roads and rails and out of harm’s way prior to the storm.
Though Jonas was Comfort’s first winter storm while at the MTA helm, he said he knew to avoid what his predecessors had done with earlier snow storms – principally the devastating back-to-back blizzards of February 2010.
“In the past, the practice was to deliver service as late as possible and wait until the worst of the storm came and then stop service when you have dozens of buses, light rail cars and subway cars stretched and stuck all over the system,” Comfort said. “Police had to go out in Humvees to rescue passengers stranded at bus stops and train stations in 2010.
“We sometimes spend our time trying to be like football and play through the storm as opposed to being more like baseball and calling the game if it becomes unsafe,” Comfort noted. “In this case, protecting our passengers, employees and equipment was the proper call.”
The old approach to storm coverage took its toll on both man and machine. This time with the early decision and public announcement of suspension of services for 48 hours during the worst of the storm, MTA was able to increase customer and operator safety. The agency also greatly reduced expenses, such as transmission replacements on vehicles. And, the MTA was able to have a full complement of manpower to focus on recovery efforts once the worst of the storm was done. In addition, it allowed MTA to reposition some of its fleet, like moving metro train cars into tunnels, so snow wouldn’t have to be removed from them after the storm.
This is in stark contrast to the blizzards of February 2010 where the MTA was forced to spend more than $1 million in burned-out bus transmissions – damaged as coach drivers revved their engines trying to get the buses off snow-slicked streets. The human toll included 12 MTA employees who sustained injuries working at the height of the 2010 storm.
The tally for Jonas – zero injuries and no significant vehicle damage.
An emailed thank-you note that Comfort received from MTA bus driver, Patrick Parents, drove that point home.
It read in part, “Your present administration did a fantastic job. In my tenure here, I've never felt that as operators our safety — and more importantly the passengers safety was ever prioritized … This was the first time in my career that I actually had the opportunity to be home with my son, instead of being stuck in a snow storm seven hours waiting for a tow truck. I appreciate that very much.”
While Comfort, Drotz and Director of Operations John Duncan called the shots during the MTA’s storm recovery, it was MTA employees like Wilbert Lewis, an MTA electronic technician for the past 33 years, who were the true unsung heroes of the Winter Storm Jonas saga.
Armed with a snow blower, Lewis and a few colleagues attacked snow mounds on Saturday (Jan. 23) so salt could be applied to bare pavement. But, there was one problem — the snow continued to fall into Sunday (Jan. 24).
“We couldn’t just let it mount up again so I just decided to stay (at work) Saturday night, go home and plow my alley so that wouldn’t be too much of a mess, get some better shoes and then go back Sunday and stay the night,” Lewis said. “My wife works at a hospital and she was staying there so it made sense.”
Lewis said his feet took a beating during the days of snow-blowing, but it did bring a sense of satisfaction when it was over.
“I was happy we got Baltimore up and working again,” he said.
In the end, Administrator Comfort said that partnerships at the top echelons of Maryland state government also helped transform the MTA plan for Winter Storm Jonas from a design on a page to a concerted effort that restored Baltimore’s transit service in rapid fashion.
“Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn and WMATA head Paul Wiedefeld were key,” Comfort said. “Pete helped in the intermodal parts of the recovery. For example, when we needed help from the State Highway Administration on plowing, Pete made than happen.
“Paul and I coordinated the regional responses to make sure it was not just WMATA or just the MTA making decisions,” Comfort added. “People saw that the region’s transit systems were working together in our storm response, which was a first.”
Paul Shepard is the public information officer, office of Communications and Marketing, at the Maryland Transit Administration.
SIDE BAR
Maryland Transit Administration’s 10 Keys to Weathering the Storm
1. Make safety the guiding principle in all decisions.
2. Coordinate with regional transit partners.
3. Decide early whether to operate or phase in a shutdown of service before the worst of the storm.
4. Appoint a storm recovery director to oversee all decisions.
5. Work closely with the city government, elected officials, other state agencies and neighboring transit systems that can assist with service restoration. Also have a representative present at any command center the local government or emergency service squad activates.
6. Conduct a full news media blitz with a press conference and constant updates on traditional and social media outlets to keep the public informed with as much notice as possible and to provide passengers with as many options as possible.
7. Hold regularly scheduled conference calls with the management team so all key personnel know the status of the recovery and what other team members are doing and keep senior managers on site working through the storm
8. Honor the dedication of staff — some of whom may be called on to leave their families and spend days and nights around the clock at work facilities.
9. Stage as many of your transit vehicles — Metro Subway cars, local buses, light rail trains and paratransit vehicles in tunnels and other indoor facilities to protect them from the elements and quicken the time needed to get them back on the streets when service is restored.
10. Offer free transit rides on the first day of service after the storm as a way to incentivize people to ride transit and to acknowledge the fact that service will not be up to normal standards.
