In my little corner of the world near Washington, D.C., last week we broke a snow record set 111 years ago. Different localities got anywhere from 25 to near 50 inches of snow in the space of about 10 days, in an area where we normally think of 4-5 inches as a big snow. No one doubts that this unprecedented deluge of the white stuff is an occasion for flexibility, for understanding, and for coping with predictable disruptions of normal life.
On the other hand, it has been a week now since the last significant snow fell. The bright spot is that local utilities did pretty well in restoring lost power after the storm. Beyond that, though, not only are things a mess, but there is little sense that recovery is progressing. Main roads are clear, but heavily traveled secondaries are still only one lane instead of two, and many residential streets (like mine, left, at 3 pm today) remain completely untouched by plow or chemical - any clearing has been done by residents, by hand. And sidewalks? Forget sidewalks. On Monday, local authorities appealed to parents, school kids and any civic-minded citizens to get out and help clear sidewalks near schools and school bus stops in neighborhoods.
Postal service stopped for at least four days; bus service for a week; subway service ran at about 50% because above-ground stops could not be served; and schools have been closed for more than a week, some restarting today, others tomorrow.
Naturally, the complaints and recriminations have begun. Some opine that today, the first day most schools are restarting and the federal government is fully open for business, is a "test," and that if things don't go smoothly (I can tell you, they won't) it's a disgrace. Others note how politicians in many cities have been voted out by voters angry after a big snowstorm. I think it's still too early for that kind of stuff; it's ridiculous to suppose that cities can be ready every year just in case the snow of the century comes along.
On the other hand, I think there a couple of ideas that could be implemented to help us along the next time a big storm hits.
First, the question of priorities. Understandably, local jurisdictions advise that they will clear main roads first; but a really big storm like this one might require a different way of operating. This time, leaving secondary streets untouched for several days after the snow stopped while they dealt exclusively with main roads (not completely successfully, either) meant that fallen, movable snow hardened into immovable caked snow with ice underneath and people got locked into their neighborhoods for days if they didn't dig themselves out.
In these conditions, we need a two-tiered approach; some teams, a majority, including all the heaviest equipment, can deal with those main roads, but not necessarily hoping to achieve the perfection of a totally snow-free surface. (After all, the main roads clear themselves by traffic, spray, and sun once the bulk of loose snow is removed.) Other teams need to get busy on secondary and neighborhood streets - again, not with the idea of clearing everything right down to bare pavement, but at least to shove away the bulk of the snow. (I also like the idea I read somewhere, of including all public bus routes in the mix early, so that public transport can get up and running again.)
A second thought: Local governments had used up most or all of their snow removal budgets before Christmas this year, before we got the additional 20-30 inches in February. Yet we don't get snow frequently or in large quantities. Why shouldn't governments take a running average of several years of snow removal costs, sequester those funds, and carry them over from year to year if unspent? Lean years would create a bit of cushion for the times when Mother Nature is more bountiful.
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