Have you seen this?
WINTER WEATHER OPERATIONS UPDATE: Our Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Highways crews began treating County maintained (named) roadways with salt last night, January 5th around 9:00 p.m. While the snow continues to fall, crews are currently plowing at least one lane on County primary and secondary roadways to ensure public safety vehicles can provide service to residents. Local residential roadways will not be plowed until after the snow stops later this afternoon. Please keep in mind that during a typical snowstorm of six to 12 inches, the Bureau’s goal is to have the entire County maintained road system cleared within 12 to 18 hours AFTER the STORM ENDS. All County roads will be serviced before the Bureau halts its efforts. You can track the Bureau's progress via the County's Snow Plow Tracker at https://citizeninsights.geotab.com/#/hocosnowplowtrackerbeta.
For questions and/or concerns regarding snow removal, please contact the Bureau at 410-313-7450 and/or email highways@howardcountymd.gov.
As always, Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is responsible for all numbered roadways in Howard County, such as US 40, US 29, I-95, MD 32, MD 175, etc. This also includes any bridges over a numbered roadway. For intersections that include a State and County maintained roadway, the state takes precedence and has jurisdiction. For information about SHA roads and operations, please visit https://roads.maryland.gov/.
Here’s the important bit:
While the snow continues to fall, crews are currently plowing at least one lane on County primary and secondary roadways to ensure public safety vehicles can provide service to residents. Local residential roadways will not be plowed until after the snow stops later this afternoon.
HoCo, we have a problem.
On most days of the year, if you ask people what are important factors when choosing the location of a home, they are likely to list quiet neighborhoods, low traffic, proximity to desired schools, parklike natural environment, safe for children, etc. You know the drill: location, location, location.
But when it snows? They want to be plowed out first.
Friend, this does not compute. If you want to be plowed out first you need to live on a primary or secondary road. But you didn’t want to live there. You chose that charming cul de sac for all the reasons listed above and, honestly, you probably love it there. Except when it snows.
We live on a busy road. I’m guessing it’s a secondary road. We don’t get a lot of traffic noise because our community is set back a ways by the parking lot. (We also have great windows.) And we do always get plowed promptly. But I’d hazard a guess that there are plenty of folks who wouldn’t want to live where we live precisely because of the busy street. Too much traffic. Not ideal for young children, I often hear.
Plans for plowing a large area necessarily involve prioritizing. It’s a kind of triage, if you will. You work from the area of the greatest overall need. This does not mean that other areas are unimportant. It’s simply physically impossible to plow all the streets in all the neighborhoods at exactly the same time. (If you think that it is, please tell me how. )
That being said, I do have a friend of the cul de sac variety who has been left for last so many times that I am beginning to think that her street is isolated by some kind of cloaking device. In previous snows she has been able to track where plows are getting nearer to where she lives and then…poof! They never appear. Somethings seems to repel approaching snowplows. I have no idea what that might be.
Could it be the street sign itself, communicating with the plow driver in some telepathic way? “This is not the street you’re looking for.” Or, “This street has already been plowed. You can go about your business.”
It’s a mystery.
County response to a snow event is an art and a science and a combination of human effort, ingenuity, error. Every single thing done by humans will contain some level of human error - - including everything that you do - - so I just don’t think we can expect perfection designed specifically to our personal specifications.
If the most important thing in the world to you is getting plowed out first I have two thoughts.
1. Move. Choose a location that makes the fulfillment of your desire more likely.
2. It honestly doesn’t snow all that much anymore, especially big snows that require plowing. If you really love where you live, maybe this is something you can live with?
Once upon a time in HoCoBlog land there was a blog called Live from the Cul de Sac which I have always though was a perfect name. This was well before Facebook Live. I can just imagine a truly Live from the Cul de Sac event as neighbors cheer the arrival of the snow plow. Man on the street interviews, etc. Festivities with beverages chilling in snowbanks and outdoor grilling on the central island space.
Possibly a little community shoveling, too? As the song from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood says, “Let’s think of something to do while we’re waiting.”
What do you think? Let me know.
*****
Post Script: while the premise of this post made sense when I wrote it, I’m beginning to feel as though there’s some hubris involved in writing on this topic without having experienced the other side of the situation. I ask forgiveness if it comes across as glib or lacking empathy. Also: is there a better way? And: why do we have so many dang cul de sacs? - - jam
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