A Beautiful But Troubling Morning Drive -Good Work Crews!

[Jim O'Bryan]

Please take the time to read this and check out the captions. The city crews did a good job
with a storm that flared up about 1:30am. Considering everything, the crews have done a
tremendous job, even when compared to other cities.

The only area that wasn't touched, was the Mayor's neighborhood. It actually looked
untouched. While I appreciate Mike Summers saying no special treatment for his street,
as this is truly the kind of person Mike is, demanding no special treatment for himself or
family. We really need and want EVERYONE in Lakewood enjoying Lakewood services, even
the Mayor and his neighbors. Right? The nicest part of community is equality.

Enjoy

The snow started falling around 1:30am and by 7:30 we had at least 3 inches.


Huge flakes falling through the night.


By 8:30am the Emerald Canyon was at its winter best!








Crews had Detroit cleared.




Even Melt's sign could not melt the snow.


Bunts Road, cleared.


Clifton, cleared


Lake Road, driveable but we are nearing the Mayor's neighborhood.


Edgewater Drive, untouched?


The Mayor's street, unplowed. While Mayor Summers took a lot of heat over salt and snow
last week, and I appreciate his thought process of my street last, the city first. Many
elderly in the area, and even the Mayor should not suffer simply because he is the mayor.


Side streets all look like they got a pass or two.


Madison Avenue, good.


I must have seen crews on the streets at least ten times during this short drive.


Back on the rim of the Emerald Canyon.

What a great drive.


Emerald Canyon.


The Green Barn area.


The bend on Riverside Drive.

Good job crews, and Mayor Summers we all want your streets plowed too.

.

[Jeff Dreger]

I agree. Big improvement from the rest of this winter. I wasn't out much, but even our little ol' side street was plowed and salted.

[Peter Grossetti]

A shut-in's* view of this morning's winter wonderland .. from the kitchen woindow. (*emergency eye surgery last Monday for a torn retina; face-down convalescing for 45 minutes of each waking hour for one full week; I'm on day 6 of 7).

For those of you out there .. have fun; be safe ... and enjoy. "In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." ~William Blake

020214snow-lo.jpg (351.9 KiB) Viewed 3361 times

[Glenn Palmer]

I can say that this entire winter the streets have been minimally passable at all times and well kept up consistently. If you drive with any commonsense at all then this should be the model for future years, if not then there are plenty of body shops that can repair your vehicle but sadly not your impatience.

P.S. Great Photos

[Jeff Dreger]

Not entirely sure what Glenn means, but if anyone thinks that my complaints of the road conditions this winter is impatience or anything like it then so be it. To me, going at most 15mph on a main road (near a school, at an intersection) and still being afraid for my and my kids safety well after the snowfall has stopped in Northeast Ohio in Janurary is not excusable.

[Tim Liston]

"Not entirely sure what Glenn means...."

What he means is that it is unreasonable to expect that roads will be mostly clear just a few hours after a snow storm, and that what you should expect is that they only be passable. And perhaps that's what we can realistically afford. A refreshingly realistic perspective...

[Jeff Dreger]

I'm certainly not complaining about passable roads. Perhaps some folks' definition of passable differs from mine. And why would we suddenly not be able to afford it? How unreasonable is it to expect them to be as good as Rocky River? How unreasonable is it to be as good as Cleveland? How unreasonable is it to be as good as Beachwood with twice as much snow? People as diverse as Ryan and Grace agree that things have been bad. Unacceptably bad. Again, not complaining because we're bellyachers. Complaining because things in this town used to be better. And because things in adjacent towns have been much better of late. What we realistically CAN'T afford is a kid getting struck on the way to school because the roads are so bad and crosswalks are so bad. And I'm not as worried about the good, patient drivers (which thankfully we seem to have an abundance of) when road conditions are bad. Taking care of the roads is even more important for those impatient idiots that are more likely to slide through an intersection or loose their cool and think they're impervious from zero friction and try passing other cars... that's when cars and kids get hit. I do not expect most roads to be perfect right after a storm. And no one is suggesting that. What got me going - again - is a main road, main intersection, near a school, well after the snow stopped, that was not in any meaningful (safe) way passable when at the very same time adjacent cities were doing a much, much better job. If we can't afford that, it's time to hang it up.

[Glenn Palmer]

My meaning is that the asphalt doesn't need to be visible to have passable streets, less salt means less expense and less damage to the streets. The advancement in tire technology has improved dramatically over the years, cars are lighter so the inertia behind them is less so if people adjust their speed accordingly during times of bad weather the city can continue with the type of service we have had this season. Sidewalks.....don't get me started.

[Jeff Dreger]

As far as the condition of the roads and their (lack of) maintenance this winter, we may have to just agree to disagree. I feel very strongly that they have been unsafe and unacceptable regardless of speed. I'm not asking to see dry asphalt and I'm all for not overusing salt but I am saying that things are safer in other cities and things used to be safer here.

As far as the technology thing, my wife and I have actually switched cars for the winter since she has the longer commute. She was driving the newer, lighter car but even with good tires it just never grabbed the road in the snow because it it is just too light. That is the car on which the loss of traction light is almost always on in Lakewood. If you don't make contact with the road, amount of inertia is moot - you will slide until you finally make contact with the road or an object. She feels much safer in the older, heavier car because it does start and stop a heck of a lot better when the roads are as lousy as they've been.

Lastly, as I said before, I'm not as worried about the good drivers that adjust their speed. Keeping the roads clear is even more important to keep the idiots from slamming into my kids or my car.

[marklingm]

I'm certainly not complaining about passable roads. Perhaps some folks' definition of passable differs from mine. And why would we suddenly not be able to afford it? How unreasonable is it to expect them to be as good as Rocky River? How unreasonable is it to be as good as Cleveland? How unreasonable is it to be as good as Beachwood with twice as much snow? People as diverse as Ryan and Grace agree that things have been bad. Unacceptably bad. Again, not complaining because we're bellyachers. Complaining because things in this town used to be better. And because things in adjacent towns have been much better of late. What we realistically CAN'T afford is a kid getting struck on the way to school because the roads are so bad and crosswalks are so bad. And I'm not as worried about the good, patient drivers (which thankfully we seem to have an abundance of) when road conditions are bad. Taking care of the roads is even more important for those impatient idiots that are more likely to slide through an intersection or loose their cool and think they're impervious from zero friction and try passing other cars... that's when cars and kids get hit. I do not expect most roads to be perfect right after a storm. And no one is suggesting that. What got me going - again - is a main road, main intersection, near a school, well after the snow stopped, that was not in any meaningful (safe) way passable when at the very same time adjacent cities were doing a much, much better job. If we can't afford that, it's time to hang it up.

As far as the condition of the roads and their (lack of) maintenance this winter, we may have to just agree to disagree. I feel very strongly that they have been unsafe and unacceptable regardless of speed. I'm not asking to see dry asphalt and I'm all for not overusing salt but I am saying that things are safer in other cities and things used to be safer here.

As far as the technology thing, my wife and I have actually switched cars for the winter since she has the longer commute. She was driving the newer, lighter car but even with good tires it just never grabbed the road in the snow because it it is just too light. That is the car on which the loss of traction light is almost always on in Lakewood. If you don't make contact with the road, amount of inertia is moot - you will slide until you finally make contact with the road or an object. She feels much safer in the older, heavier car because it does start and stop a heck of a lot better when the roads are as lousy as they've been.

Lastly, as I said before, I'm not as worried about the good drivers that adjust their speed. Keeping the roads clear is even more important to keep the idiots from slamming into my kids or my car.

Jeff,

Great posts!

This city snow plow issue is becoming like the graffiti discussion that Jim and I started.

"City Hall and Friends" actually weren't as concerned with the graffiti as much as they were concerned that Jim and I were discussing it openly right here on the Deck.

Some among "City Hall and Friends" even opined that Jim and I were actually tagging the parks.

Right, Jim?

It's okay to complain when elected officials don't do their jobs.

We can and should expect more from City Hall.

... after all ...

... we appear to be the Top 10 in everything ...

... with the exception of city services it would appear.

Matt