New London — Mayor Michael Passero considers it good karma that it has yet to snow.

Following a blockbuster year for snowfall that led to frozen-over walkways and parking spots, Passero said planning for the winter was one of most pressing issues he faced after taking office.

Interim Public Works Director Brian Sear said this year’s plan relies heavily on cooperation and communication.

“From my perspective, it was a really important to coordinate the Public Works Department with the Board of Education, police and City Center District. What I don’t want happening is us working against each other. We’ve worked out our roles and expectations and agreements on who is responsible for what areas. When spring comes, we can say we had a plan.”

The city had earlier this year obtained funding to purchase three new plow trucks to replace existing 25-year-old plows. Two of the new trucks are in service and a third is expected in January.

The City Center District will chip in this year by converting its John Deere, used for watering plantings during the growing season, into a sidewalk plow.

“Our organization voted to try this as an experiment,” said City Center District Vice President Charlotte Hennegan, owner of Thames River Greenery on State Street. “When we have a snowstorm, we’ll take a swipe through and clean all of the sidewalks we can.”

Sear said there will be coordination with the CCD so the organization's snow removal doesn’t hinder city operations

The overall plan for snow removal, Sear said, will include identification of staging areas to pile snow for removal later.

This could include areas off Bank or State streets but also may include the parade, though Sear said he is mindful of concerns that snow removal equipment has the potential to cause damage.

Temporary snow bans also will be announced earlier, which Sear said is key to the quick clearing of on-street parking areas.

Municipal lots and garages are open and free to residents during snow bans.

“From our standpoint, especially in cases of successive storms with no melting, it’s important for us to get that snow somewhere else. Not being able to plow where the cars are is just an unsafe situation,” Sear said.

While business owners tend not to be fans of parking bans, Hennegan said she looks forward to better notice from the city about when the bans will occur through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, perhaps message boards, and not the mostly inaudible loudspeakers downtown.

Overall, Hennegan said, business owners who met with city officials and other stakeholders last week are encouraged by the amount of communication occurring.

She said the meeting included members of the City Center District, police, school district and fire personnel, city councilors and public works officials.

“It was fantastic,” Hennegan said. “All of these people were in the same room talking about and trying to figure out the best way to make it work.”

While the Public Works Department does not have any new employees, Sear said the Highway, Recreation and Building Division staff members are enlisted each winter, with the solid waste staff also available in the event of a real emergency.

Public Works also maintains school properties and is coordinating with the school district.

Sear said there will also be a concerted effort to notify residents of their responsibilities concerning snow removal to avoid snow-clogged sidewalks that force pedestrians into the roadways.

Interim Chief Administrative Officer Steven Fields said the city analyzed “what went right and what went wrong” last winter to gather reasonable solutions to concerns mostly surrounding snow removal.

“We basically wanted to make sure we are as prepared as possible so we can improve the entire operation,” Fields said.

G.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay