So after spending a better part of the day shoveling out my cars (yes I said shoveling, because the fuel line ruptured on the snow thrower), I took one of the cars around the corner just to see how things were. I was astonished to find that not one of the streets in my neighborhood had been plowed! Where are the snowplows!
Many cars look as if they were stuck after neighbors pulled them out of the driveways, in order to clear them and were then unable to get them back in. I myself almost got stuck around the corner from my house before I was able to make it back safely to my driveway.
And if you think the streets and peoples driveways are a problem, then you might as well forget about sidewalks getting cleared anytime soon. If the clean up after this storm is like the last blizzard that hit back in February, once trucks make it out, they will be running so fast down each street that the snow flying off their plows will be thrown-up onto the sidewalks, making it almost impossible for residents to clear.
I understand that Middletown got hit pretty hard with this storm, by all accounts nearly 21 inches of snow fell around town, but unlike other storms that hit earlier this year plow trucks were on the road most of the night and day clearing streets. I can't remember the last time I've seen it like this.
Was there no money left in this years budget to cover snow removal expenses after making such big deal about how $900K had to be added to the 2010 budget for winter storms that hit January and February? After all, whatever the cost of the clean-up of this storm winds up being, it will be rolled into the 2011 budget anyway, so why not get all available crews out there plowing and clearing streets like was done earlier in the year. It couldn't have been a lack of contractors available because I witnessed over a dozen of them driving up and down Main Street looking for work.
The next time I see one of them I think I will have them stop.
(The picture above was taken from an upstairs window earlier this morning, but it doesn't do justice to what it actually looks like on the ground)
