
When The Ribbon Cutting Is the Cheapest Part
May 13, 2026 - 41:17
Radio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
A Massachusetts town budgeted $600,000 for snow and ended up spending $6 million clearing its streets. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Daniel Herriges, and Gracen Johnson trace the links between winter operations, stormwater,...
The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem is an episode from Upzoned by Strong Towns. A Massachusetts town budgeted $600,000 for snow and ended up spending $6 million clearing its streets. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Daniel Herri...
This episode belongs to Upzoned.
Use the player on this page to stream the episode online.
Published Apr 8, 2026, 44:17 long, audio available.
A Massachusetts town budgeted $600,000 for snow and ended up spending $6 million clearing its streets. Norm Van Eeden Petersman, Daniel Herriges, and Gracen Johnson trace the links between winter operations, stormwater, supply chains, labor, and land use in cities facing serious snow. Starting with Boston’s overrun numbers, they widen the lens to Ottawa’s snow storage sites and Minneapolis’ potholes, asking what happens when seasonal extremes collide with tight city budgets. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES " ‘That comes with a price tag’: How snow removal is busting town budgets " by Kate Selig, Bostonglobe.com (March 2026) " The Cost of an Extra Foot " by Chuck Marohn " Transactions of Decline " by Chuck Marohn Downzone: " Cost-Based Social Rental Housing in Europe " (Web PDF) The Ink (Substack) You'll Pay For This! (Site) Criminal Broads (Site) Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Daniel Herriges (LinkedIn) Gracen Johnson (LinkedIn) Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom . This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Click here to learn more about membership.
You can listen to The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.
The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem is an episode from Upzoned by Strong Towns.
This episode is 44:17 long.
This episode was published on Apr 8, 2026.
Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.
Yes. This page shows related episodes from Upzoned when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.
You can listen to The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem on this page when the episode audio is available from the podcast feed.
The $600K Snow Budget That Became a $6 Million Problem is from Upzoned by Strong Towns.
Published Apr 8, 2026 and 44:17 long