Buffalo, This Is When Your Street Will Get Plowed
Residents in the City of Buffalo are growing frustrated as people are still waiting for a plow more than 48 hours after Winter Storm Izzy hit Western New York.
People have continued to get stuck on the same side streets repeatedly over the last few days, and thankfully we’re the City of Good Neighbors and we managed to help each other get out of those tough situations.
However, in a city known for its historic winters and heavy snowfall, you would think that the city would have a better strategy by now when it comes to plowing these residential streets, including side streets, one-ways, and dead-ends.
And I want to stress that the city would have a better strategy. The extended wait for a plow is not in the hands of the plow driver, but rather the people above them that give them their list of streets to plow.
Don’t be angry at your snow plow driver. They are working hard to get to you.
Though it should be noted that we are going on day 3 aftermath of the snowstorm and streets, including my own, still have not been plowed once.
Are cars parked on the wrong side of the street? In some locations, I’m sure that’s the case.
Regardless, this is a serious problem, and here’s one example why.
As I mentioned above, my street has yet to be plowed, so I watched this situation unfold from my window.
A police car tried to go down my street with their lights and sirens on. It must have been an emergency (I’m not sure what) but clearly this police woman was trying to get somewhere in a hurry to help someone down my street.
The police car ended up getting stuck just a few feet after her turn (because we still have about 14 inches of snow on our street that has now turned into mostly ice) so the woman tried to quickly move her car to the side of the street. After she managed that, she got out of the car and started to make her way down the sidewalk at a quickened pace.
Again, I don’t know what that emergency was, but all I could think about is, “What if someone is having a medical emergency? What if there’s a fire down the road? What if someone needs help…now??”
We need to do better when it comes to snow removal in the city, and it starts with the leaders above.
If you have been waiting for your street to get plowed, the wait shouldn’t be too much longer. All streets (with the exception of dead-ends) will be plowed at least once at some point this morning.
If your street doesn’t get plowed today, call 311 or a representative from the city. We should be prepared in case we have an emergency. A police car should be able to make their way down your road, and if they can’t, that should not be overlooked.
I know I’m only six months into my life here at Buffalo, but how would the city feel knowing that someone died just seconds before they were able to get to them? And if you’re reading this and thinking “wow Kadie you’re jumping to conclusions,” maybe I am right now but one day it very well could happen, and who’s to say it didn’t happen yesterday?
I don’t know what the solution is for this situation, but we need to figure it out – together.