From media partner Doing It Local:
Snow Ride2: Stratford Avenue Bridge, Stratford Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, East Main to Boston Avenue.
At 4pm, I took a ride around Bridgeport to check on road conditions and see how much progress crews have made clearing the snow. This is part TWO, from Stratford Avenue Bridge, Stratford Avenue, Connecticut Avenue, East Main to Boston Avenue.
Considering the number of miles the city is responsible for maintaining, crews did a solid job tackling round one, with many main roads cleared and passable.
Some secondary roads are still snow-covered and slick in spots, so drivers should continue to use caution, especially on hills and side streets. If you’re heading out tonight, give yourself extra time and watch for plows and treatment trucks still working.
If you’re out in your neighborhood, how are the roads looking where you are?
A lot of streets still only half plowed — only half the width of the street available for car passage. Cars plowed- in blocking passage on many streets. The streets are a bigger mess with combined effects of this storm and the last storm. Another “F” grade for street clearing in this storm. An absolute mess…
If people with cars don’t follow the rules what can a plow driver really do? Typical plows are 12″-18″ wider than the truck that’s pushing it. If drivers parked on one side of the street the plows could clear that side to the curb. Then everyone move to the clean side so the same thing can happen. It’s not rocket science. Surprisingly, Connecticut Avenue has long stretches of to the curb plowing done. There’s actually two travel lanes! New Haven, Hartford, and Stamford have robust snow towing operations. It’s time for Bridgeport to get on board.
Snow complicates any situation, and when followed by deeply colder temperatures, it does not go away. To have another major storm with 18 inches or more of the white stuff on top and then today with about three inches it causes “weariness” or winter and hopes for a rapid spring with temperatures rising.
Emergency as a term, when used by the Federal government to squeeze into rules that may not apply anyway, is never really explained to us. Why not? Is the leader fearful of whatever circumstances face him? Transparency, which is trumpeted, would allow him to explain perhaps the emergency.
And now the situation faces us with the short session of the legislature facing “emergencies” which perhaps allow suspension of hearings, complete readings and understandings of legislation being discussed and likely called for a vote. Take a breath or two, let the leaders fully explain the emergencies at hand, and when the questions are answered and hands are no longer raised, call for a vote, or postpone when no one present agrees to the emergency. “Consent of the governed” was required in Founder documents. Why is it suspended today. Isn’t the “emergency” that voters become ill-informed, and remove themselves from seeking trustworthy info, and when asked to honor their voting rights as registered citizens, they fail to come to the polls? Time will tell.