Reply to MCPS gave County list of snow issues on Sunday at 2:13 pm. Under 2 hours later MCPS blamed County for Monday closure

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Reply to "MCPS gave County list of snow issues on Sunday at 2:13 pm. Under 2 hours later MCPS blamed County for Monday closure"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I guess this is devil's advocate, but why is it MCPS's job to tell the county where to clear the roads properly? The job being done properly should be the default and the fact that it had been a week since the storm and the county hadn't already figured that out in response to all the complaints and 311 calls they were getting, or by simply driving around and seeing what a mess things are, is ridiculous and not on MCPS.

MCPS probably kept waiting for the county to do the job taxpayers pay for of its own initiative, because that's how government services are supposed to work. Not only bothering to get around to it because the school system nagged them.  "How could we be expected to know we did a bad job until MCPS told us at 2:13 on a Sunday?" What an absurd excuse. Why don't you supervise your own clearing efforts and monitor progress through some kind of organized system like an actual competent department?

The plowing job on surface streets has been completely subpar and an embarrassment. [/quote]

+10000000[/quote]

County is not responsible for school bus stops[/quote]

The bus stops aren't the only problem. Some roads are not passable for buses due to the way they've been plowed and maneuverability issues. The buses couldn't even get to the stop. That is the fault of county plowing. And if a bus can't get down there, a fire truck probably couldn't either. Again, not on MCPS.[/quote]

I completely agree that the county could have done better. However, the County prioritizes snow emergency routes for emergency vehicles. MCPS should coordinate with the County regarding its school bus routes. MCPS sending the County a list of issues on Sunday afternoon and not 2 hours later bashing the County publicly is incredibly disingenuous. They didn't care about opening, they cared about blaming someone in order to stay closed. If they really wanted to open they would have been communicating with the county much earlier.[/quote]

Exactly. There's a need to prioritize snow removal resources.  Things aren't going to be perfect. The objective is to clear roads enough for emergency services as broadly as possible and as quickly as possible. That can mean only clearing one lane on a multi-lane roadway.  That is generally going to be good enough for most purposes, albeit road capacity may be lower, and people may need to drive more slowly.  Improving capacity and convenience from there is going to take more time.  And often will be resource-intensive, we're seeing places where they need to use loaders and trucks to move the snow (rather than just pushing it out of the way).

We shouldn't need to wait until everything is perfectly clear to reopen schools.  If MCPS has specific requirements (e.g., for buses) that extend beyond what would otherwise be part of that minimum tier of plowing, then they're obligated to communicate them to the county and coordinate with them to open schools.

MCPS failed here.[/quote]

No way. MCPS is in charge of schooling. DOT etc are in charge of clearing roads. They failed. As did 70% of homeowners and businesses around me..

Here, let me help:

Attention:MCDOT, MDOT, HOAs, Joe-Six-Pack

You need to clear roads and sidewalks so that they are suitable for use by busses and children who walk to school. I know you already knew this and just botched it but some clowns on a DB think its MCPS job, so you are hereby notified.
[/quote]

County buses ran on Monday. Most places opened on Tuesday. Nearly everything else operated on Wednesday. If the roads legitimate could not accommodate MCPS's unique needs, then MCPS has the obligation of communicating their needs. They obviously didn't do that.

MCPS needs to work with the county to adjust bus routes where necessary to roads that can be adequately make passable in a timely manner for buses. The county itself doesn't set school bus routes.[/quote]

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