Description

The city really needs to ask for help from other cities that know how to deal with snow removal, because New Haven doesn't have the slightest idea of how to do this. Making the entire city park on one side of the street for seven days is not only NOT a Best Practice, it is plain stupid. Some reasons include: 1: Plowing on the odd side has always been inconsistent, leading residents to think that digging themselves out from the odd side, digging their way across the street, and later digging out an even-sided space is pointless; 2: There is no enforcement of violations in resident-only neighborhoods, which means that unauthorized cars are occupying the limited spaces on the even side; 3: Under the current plan, the even side would never get plowed; 4: The current band is in effect 24 hours a day (are they plowing 24 hours a day?). A more effective approach would be to actually schedule plowing day-by-day in selected areas. In short, simply telling thousands of people to huddle up on one side the streets, knowing that there isn't enough room, in the hopes that plows may clear away snow over the course of 7 days, highlights the city's real lack of ability to develop a solid logistical plan. This kind of bad organization further erodes confidence in our city government. On a personal note, it is SO stressful to wonder if you are going to be able to get to and from your car safely to be able to work, or if you are going to have to shovel out different spots every day, or even fall victim to the crime that is rampant in our city as you walk a distance in the dark to and from your home. It's getting just too hard to live here, and I don't see it getting better. Can anyone in city hall think straight?