DC And Suburban Snow Removability

What a mess

Ice on top of snow. You can walk on it without breaking through, but it’s quite slippery. It’s quite easy to fall on your ass. I’ve done that a few times. The first one was down the front steps. That hurt.

Cars that were parked on the street, have been buried under plowed snow. In my neighborhood, the plow made one pass down the middle of the street. Most people had parked their cars in their driveways, so that the plow could clear at least half the street. No such luck. We got one pass with the plow, and that was it. Now you had to dig out from the bottom of your driveway, to the snow berm guarding the one plowed lane, down the middle of the street.

The fact of the matter is, we are not prepared for the once-every-ten-or-so-years, that we get hit with this kind of storm. It’s a policy choice. Why spend the money on the equipment you would need to clear the roads, for an event that occurs roughly every decade or so.

None of the bicycle lanes have been plowed, so cyclists are sharing the road with cars and tractor trailers. A message to us drivers: Be alert! A message to us cyclists: Be alert! If you see someone on an electric bike, with a box on the back, the riders is more than likely a delivery person, a member of the working class precariat, trying to make a living. Remember that, the next time you order something from Amazon, and it’s on your front porch at 4 am.

This is winter in Washington. Look on the bright side. In a couple of months, it will all be gone. In the meantime, it looks like Metro and the busses are running. However, many bus stops are not clear, so riders are waiting for the bus in the street. We find ways to adapt. That’s a good thing.