West Anchorage Snow Disposal Site
West Anchorage Snow Disposal Site
Welcome to the Anchorage Transportation Fair booth for the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) West Anchorage Snow Disposal Site Project. The MOA is considering a new disposal site for snow collected from West Anchorage streets during winter. The Draft Site Selection Study is now available and a preferred location has been identified. As part of the site selection decision-making process, the public is invited to provide comments and feedback through November 20, 2020.
Use this link to visit the Fall Online Open House: https://www.westanchoragesnow.com/fall-online-open-house/
Purpose & Need:
The purpose of this project is to identify and select a future location for snow disposal in the Municipality of Anchorage. The existing location is leased from the State of Alaska and is located on land owned by the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (AIA). This site no longer meets contracting requirements.
Draft Site Selection Study:
The Draft Site Selection Study is now available and the preferred location of Connor's Bog has been identified. As part of the site selection decision-making process, the public is invited to provide comments and feedback on the Draft Site Selection Study results and preferred site location. The site selection Study was taken in three steps. Step one identified large vacant land parcels within the West Anchorage service area. Step Two evaluated the suitability of each site. Step Three was a detailed analyses of the sites which resulted in the final site recommendation of Connor's Bog. The goal is to gain Municipal and Federal approval through the appropriate permitting processes when the final site is selected.
Step One: Site Identification Possible snow disposal sites were selected by comparing available, undeveloped parcels within the snow disposal collection area that also met the size and location requirements. Nineteen sites met this initial screening criteria.
Step Two: Site Evaluations The second step consisted of two parts:
- The 19 sites were further evaluated against four desired characteristics. The characteristics evaluated were site zoning, the ability to operate 24 hours a day, access to the roads, and the land is available for purchase with no lease. Sites with a low rating for any of the four characteristics were eliminated from consideration.
- The remaining five sites were assessed in a more detailed manner.
- Two sites were eliminated due to the large impact on the recreational users of the area.
- One site was eliminated due to a sewer easement.
The two remaining sites for final analysis and evaluation were Site 5: Connor’s Bog and Site 9: Strawberry Bog highlighted in green on the map shown on the poster.
Step Three: Final Site Selection Reccomendation Connor's bog is a very desirable snow disposal site. It meets most of the criteria for a snow disposal site and has few drawbacks. The site would have low to no impacts on residents and neighbors, is sufficiently sized and available for use, will have no operational restrictions, and has adequate recieving waters. The only concerns pertaining to the Connor's Bog site are the required wetlands fill and mitigation requirements due to its location on Class A wetlands. To view the full evaluation section please download the Draft Site Selection Study found in the documents section below.
We Want to Hear From You!
The public is invited to participate in the Fall 2020 Online Meeting that will be availabe until November 20, 2020 at www.westanchoragesnow.com. The comment period for the Draft Site Selection Study is October 16 through November 20, 2020. Public comments received will be considered by the project team and included as part of final site selection. Comments can be emailed to info@westanchoragesnow.com.