BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The workers tasked with leaf cleanup in Western New York are prioritizing snow plowing but are still able to pick up leaves.
Several inches of snow dropped in the region within the last few hours, but that's not causing a concern for highway superintendents in the area.
"As long as there's minimal breakdowns, we can pretty much go right from leaf pickup right into snow and plow," Town of Tonawanda Highway Superintendent Thomas Jones said.
Sixteen trucks are used in the Town of Tonawanda to fight the snow and gather leaves. Jones said that town residents can make their jobs easier by ensuring that all leaves are between the sidewalk and the curb. He also said that the high snows totals could mean that workers won't be able to see the leaves, even if they are on the curb.
"We will take it on a day-by-day basis," Clarence Superintendent of Highways Jamie Dussing said. "We're gonna keep driving through the neighborhoods and see what needs to be done and we'll take action."
Dussing said that the primary focus will be dealing with the snow instead of picking up leaves.
"We'll definitely be in early," Dussing said. "I would say by early morning we're going to have everything cleaned up and salted and the trucks will be back in the barn. At that point, the same guys that were plowing the roads will be putting the leaf-vacs trucks packers and starting hitting the roads and collecting those leaves."
Forecasters anticipate additional snowfall at the end of this week.