| Author |
Message |
    
Buffalojoe
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2001 - 12:59 am: |     |
Hey Napes -- I went to school in Rochester, NY (grew up in Buffalo)-- and I agree about the shoddy snow-removal during this latest "storm". I hate to say it, but, why do they wait so long to plow/salt? It started snowing around two p.m. and there was certainly enough snow to start plowing by four or five. Like a typical Western NYer, I decided to go to the mall at around six p.m. on the night of the storm. When I got there an hour later they were closed, as were nearly all the stores/restaurants between Maplewood and Short Hills. Argh! Sheesh, it was only six inches of snow!
What kills me are the people who go out and shovel their sidewalks *during* the storm. Don't they know that during a snowstorm (and six inches hardly qualifies) you open a beer, watch TV, and then go out and shovel when it stops snowing?
Silly rabbits. |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2001 - 8:32 am: | |
Buffalo, I think your last post was entirely in jest, but just in case:
Some people prefer to shovel between 4 and 6 inches so that they don't have to do all of it at once. In addition, it enables you to find easily the sidewalk and walkway perimeters so that you can do a thorough job, as some of us like to do. |
Buffalojoe
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2001 - 2:09 pm: | |
My post *was* tongue-in-cheek. And I *have* noticed a disturbing trend toward sidewalk shoveling perfection in Maplewood. As a matter of fact, I had my very first burst of "keeping up with the Joneses" after this last storm, much to my horror. My neighbors all have snowblowers (and a keen sense of *exactly* where their property ends), so, when I arrived home from my aborted mall-jaunt the night of the storm, I was faced with a street of perfectly-plowed driveways and sidewalks, juxtaposed with my untouched property. A casual observer would certainly conclude that whoever lived in *our* unshoveled house was no doubt a child-molester or puppy-killer, given the shameful state of our walkable surfaces. So, in a fit of what I like to call 'Burb Shame, I took up a shovel and scraped and hefted away, until nothing was left but sidewalk. Then, pathologically, I *swept* the walks, to remove any remaining traces of snow. God help me. |
Curb
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2001 - 3:29 pm: | |
Hey Buffalo, I enjoy getting out and shoveling while it`s still snowing. My neighbor has the same mindset, so we help each other out, take our time and throw back a couple of beers while shovling. |
Mim
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2001 - 4:00 pm: | |
I knew there was something wrong with my shoveling technique -- now I know that I forgot the beer! |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Monday, February 26, 2001 - 4:03 pm: | |
Mim, I think Mem's idea for the Pinot Noir idea is lots better. Are you twins, btw? :-) |
Mim
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 9:18 am: | |
Not that I know of. Tho perhaps we were separated at birth! |
Konigen
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 10:04 am: | |
Nursie,
I wonder the same thing... "where are my tax dollars going?"
This town has terrible snow removal procedures. For one thing, when they do finally get around to plowing, they don't plow to the curb, but rather 2 feet from it. Why is it so difficult to finish the job?
The other night while trying to slip and slide home from the train station around 5:30 PM, we saw only one truck out, and it was salting rather than plowing! This truly mystified us -- it would take hours before the salt had any effect while The roads needed drastic measures (actual plowing) immediately. Finally, the trucks themselves leave much to be desired as snow removal vehicles. Those flimsy plows they have just can't seem to handle the job when the going gets tough.
This town really has a lot of nerve collecting the taxes it does while providing such shoddy service. Don't even get me started on the leaf collection...
Konigen |
Wendy
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 4:26 pm: | |
I agree with you that the latest snow plow removal in Maplewood left a lot to be desired. I also want you to know that Maplewood is not alone. There seems to be much less efficient plowing of all the streets by other towns, the various NJ counties and the state. It took my husband four hours to get home from Mahwah during the last storm and five hours (leaving early)to get home from that Monday storm of about three weeks ago. Maybe there are cutbacks all over or a change in the timing of when they are sending the plows out. He saw no plows on Rte 24, Rte 10, any part of South Orange Ave. etc. It seems to me that the plows all over used to go out sooner and do a more thorough job. |
Nakaille
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 5:32 pm: | |
You folks should have driven through Montclair and Irvington the day after the snow! We had it good, believe me!
Bacata |
Toad
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 5:49 pm: | |
Konigen- You may not understand the procedure/s for dealing with snow removal in a town such as Maplewood. Before any snow can be removed or pushed, a coating of salt has to be applied to the road surfaces to create a brine. This is imperative since it gives the plow trucks a little added traction, especially on the hillier roads. The brine also helps make the roadways safe during the lighter snowfall at the onset of the storm and accelerates the melting process once the snow is removed from the road surface. The last few storms started with light snowfall but dumped the majority of the snow in a matter of one to one and a half hours making it extremely difficult to keep up with. (Poorly timed, I might add, since it was right around the evening rush hour.) I believe you saw the salt truck finishing up the initial salt application just before they switched over to plowing. |
Kestrel
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 7:26 pm: | |
Just within this thread there is ample evidence of some of the "Damned if you do - Dammed if you don't" problems that confront the guys plowing. Some complain that their shoveling work was eradicated by the plows,(by far the most common complaint!) while others complain that the plows didn't come close enough to the curb. Some say the plows didn't get there until very late - others say they were there "right away".
I will probably be regret revealing this, but I work for the DPW. I am not in the Roads Dep't., but during snow storms or any other emergency situation, every available man, from every other Department is applied to the task. I will not go into the details of the logistics of snow plowing, although I think many of you would be quite surprised by the magnitude and complexity of all the factors, which vary considerably with the types and timings of individual storms - nor will I endevour to explain why some areas in some storms are not plowed as well as they might have been in a timely way. The people who are dissatisfied would only view my explanations as "making excuses".
However, I have often wished an "in depth" film documentary could be made of all that happens, both out on the roads and inside the DPW, particularly in the Automotive Dep't. (No, I don't work in that Dep't either!) during a snow storm. I think such a thing would give a view quite different from what most people assume it is like. Working 16 hour continuous shifts with 4 hour "breaks", trying to sleep in whatever nook we can find in the garage, is just one aspect.
One thing I know I'd like to show at the end: me, or any of us, shoveling out our own driveways and sidewalks after having worked all night and day clearing the rest of the town....But, at least I don't have to worry about plows coming along and... |
Curb
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 7:27 pm: | |
Yes! It is IMPERATIVE that a BRINE is created!
Good Lord! What would we do without that brine? |
Kestrel
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 7:31 pm: | |
Remember Guys...Next time it snows , be sure to plow right up to the "Curb"...as close as you can get!! |
Eb1154
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 7:31 pm: | |
Toad,
YOU GO GIRL!!!! Maybe and I mean maybe, after your explaination Eyespy will let you go swimming with him/her. Hey Unclelmer, you're invited too. |
Eb1154
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 7:32 pm: | |
OH yeah, don't forget the popcorn!! |
Uncleelmer
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 9:20 pm: | |
Thanks EB. I'll wear my swimmies if you hold my hand in the deep end. I got the movie, the popcorn, the salt, and the butter EYESPY (woof woof woof) |
Eb1154
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - 9:32 pm: | |
Eyespy said he/she doesn't wear swimmies so if we go in his/her pool we won't be allowed to bring our swimmies. I will hold your hand but that's as far as I'm going. Toad you in or what? |
Bobk
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 5:18 am: | |
My recollection is that ten or so years ago Maplewood's response to snow was to plow "early and often", kinda like voting in Mayor Daly's Chicago when I was a kid.
The storm last week was more intense than expected. My wife worked that evening and between 5:30pm and 6:30pm she swears her parked car picked up about three inches of snow.
My guess, and I emphasis this is a guess, is that the Township has a limited snow emergency budget and is sticking with it. Good for them if this is the case.
Maplewood has got to have more SUVs per capita than Nome. Think of snow storms as an opportunity to finally use the 4WD!!!! |
Toad
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 - 5:44 am: | |
POOL PARTY AT EYESPY'S HOUSE/(cardboard box) Count me in. I'll bring a bucket of ear wax. |
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