Why has DC failed so badly on clearing the streets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

Look...the big mistake is they should have been out plowing like crazy on the Sunday when it was sleeting and snowing, knowing that the extended arctic temperatures were going to cause it to turn into snow concrete.

That is the really unusual aspect. Typically, DC will get a storm like this and 24 hours later it's back into the 40s and it melts and is easy to plow. It's kind of crazy for the temperature to not get above freezing for like 2 weeks straight.

That's hopefully the #1 take away from all this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

Look...the big mistake is they should have been out plowing like crazy on the Sunday when it was sleeting and snowing, knowing that the extended arctic temperatures were going to cause it to turn into snow concrete.

That is the really unusual aspect. Typically, DC will get a storm like this and 24 hours later it's back into the 40s and it melts and is easy to plow. It's kind of crazy for the temperature to not get above freezing for like 2 weeks straight.

That's hopefully the #1 take away from all this.

I shoveled like 5-6 times Sunday and saw multiple plows each time. The problem was that the stuff they plowed turned into ice quite fast.

The number of whiners in this city never ceases to amaze. Some of you seem like you’re afraid to leave your house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

Look...the big mistake is they should have been out plowing like crazy on the Sunday when it was sleeting and snowing, knowing that the extended arctic temperatures were going to cause it to turn into snow concrete.

That is the really unusual aspect. Typically, DC will get a storm like this and 24 hours later it's back into the 40s and it melts and is easy to plow. It's kind of crazy for the temperature to not get above freezing for like 2 weeks straight.

That's hopefully the #1 take away from all this.

Completely disagree. The main problem is that none of the accumulation was ever removed. The plows just pushed things around and created the ice walls. More plowing wouldn't have changed anything and might have even made things worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

Look...the big mistake is they should have been out plowing like crazy on the Sunday when it was sleeting and snowing, knowing that the extended arctic temperatures were going to cause it to turn into snow concrete.

That is the really unusual aspect. Typically, DC will get a storm like this and 24 hours later it's back into the 40s and it melts and is easy to plow. It's kind of crazy for the temperature to not get above freezing for like 2 weeks straight.

That's hopefully the #1 take away from all this.

Wouldn't matter. Plows only move snow, they don't remove snow. It was always going to turn into concrete somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

Look...the big mistake is they should have been out plowing like crazy on the Sunday when it was sleeting and snowing, knowing that the extended arctic temperatures were going to cause it to turn into snow concrete.

That is the really unusual aspect. Typically, DC will get a storm like this and 24 hours later it's back into the 40s and it melts and is easy to plow. It's kind of crazy for the temperature to not get above freezing for like 2 weeks straight.

That's hopefully the #1 take away from all this.

Completely disagree. The main problem is that none of the accumulation was ever removed. The plows just pushed things around and created the ice walls. More plowing wouldn't have changed anything and might have even made things worse.

In some neighborhoods - Mass Avenue Heights, for one - the plows never came. Eight days later the streets are still not plowed.

Bowser, Bowser?

[Anonymous]

A guy yesterday was complaining because he was having trouble getting out of a snowy parking spot, whining about why the city hadn't cleared the snow up.

HOW ARE THEY GOING TO CLEAR THE SNOW WHEN YOUR CAR IS PARKED ON IT??!!?

I think that guy or his spirit animal are posting here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A guy yesterday was complaining because he was having trouble getting out of a snowy parking spot, whining about why the city hadn't cleared the snow up.

HOW ARE THEY GOING TO CLEAR THE SNOW WHEN YOUR CAR IS PARKED ON IT??!!?

I think that guy or his spirit animal are posting here.

I heard some rocket surgeons explaining that snow should be plowed to the middle of the street, not the sides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A guy yesterday was complaining because he was having trouble getting out of a snowy parking spot, whining about why the city hadn't cleared the snow up.

HOW ARE THEY GOING TO CLEAR THE SNOW WHEN YOUR CAR IS PARKED ON IT??!!?

I think that guy or his spirit animal are posting here.

I heard some rocket surgeons explaining that snow should be plowed to the middle of the street, not the sides.

Uhh, we have some of the dumbest smart people in the country here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

Look...the big mistake is they should have been out plowing like crazy on the Sunday when it was sleeting and snowing, knowing that the extended arctic temperatures were going to cause it to turn into snow concrete.

That is the really unusual aspect. Typically, DC will get a storm like this and 24 hours later it's back into the 40s and it melts and is easy to plow. It's kind of crazy for the temperature to not get above freezing for like 2 weeks straight.

That's hopefully the #1 take away from all this.

Completely disagree. The main problem is that none of the accumulation was ever removed. The plows just pushed things around and created the ice walls. More plowing wouldn't have changed anything and might have even made things worse.

In some neighborhoods - Mass Avenue Heights, for one - the plows never came. Eight days later the streets are still not plowed.

Bowser, Bowser?

There does seem to be a separate issue with some of the contractors.

That being said, the underlying problem was that there was no plan to remove anything. This is why the switch to bobcats this weekend was helpful. There was nowhere to put the snowcrete the plows were moving around and the intersections/curbs were already packed in. DC doesn't have the melting trucks that northern cities have. We rely almost exclusively on the sun (and the rfk parking lots).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m tired of the excuses about the freezing sleep and amount of snow. This was a failure. The fact that nothing happened for several days after the initial attempted cleanup is infuriating. The same thing can be said of Montgomery County. Just north in Bethesda they’re finally opening up River Road by hauling away snow. When there are two lanes going each direction and they only plow one and 3/4 each direction, you are only left with one lane open in each direction. It’s like these people are idiots. And coming back now just proves that they know it was a mistake. The initial cleanup was pathetic.
In 1979 the mayor of Chicago was swept right out of office days after a blizzard with a failed cleanup. Chicago has never failed that snow removal since then. All of these local politicians should be ashamed and run out of a job.

The extended cold weather made removal very difficult. It didn't get above freezing for a week. So, while sleet and snow shouldn't be an overwhelming issue, the continued cold hampered any efforts at removal.

It happens every 10-15 years. Get over it.

It was a failure. The failure derailed everyone’s lives and it was avoidable if they knew what the hell they were doing and prioritized it. It’s unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

I don't really know how the city's response to the snow could have been any worse. It was like the city was not even trying. People were hiring private snow plows because they gave up on the DC government ever helping them. I personally dug out three parking spaces. It wasn't easy but if I can do it, a city with tens of millions of dollars to spend can do it too. And, please, stop with the stupid "snowcrete" bullshit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't really know how the city's response to the snow could have been any worse. It was like the city was not even trying. People were hiring private snow plows because they gave up on the DC government ever helping them. I personally dug out three parking spaces. It wasn't easy but if I can do it, a city with tens of millions of dollars to spend can do it too. And, please, stop with the stupid "snowcrete" bullshit.

I drive a fair bit and the only people I ever see working on the snow are regular people. I never, ever see anyone from the city doing anything. Where is everyone?

[Anonymous]

I just sat on Georgia Ave in SIlver Spring for 45 min. A ride that usually takes less than 5

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just sat on Georgia Ave in SIlver Spring for 45 min. A ride that usually takes less than 5

Connecticut northbound from Chevy Chase Circle to the Beltway is also a gigantic mess. MoCo screwed up a lot of things and the loss of a lane has made things a nightmare.