Snow removal under fire by Halifax drivers and mayor
Posted Nov 24, 2011 05:55:09 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Frustrated commuters want to know why snow plows were so slow to hit the roads during Halifax’s first snowfall of the year.
Dozens of accidents were reported on Wednesday, but callers to News 95.7 – some who were stranded for hours on the roads – said they weren’t seeing any plows or salt trucks in the midst of the chaos.
Mayor Peter Kelly says he, too, was disappointed by the city’s response.
“I’m not happy with the way things are,” he said. “I think there are some issues definitely, maybe because it’s the first snowstorm.”
Callers to the Rick Howe Show were furious with the lack of plowed roads, blaming the city for the dangerous conditions.
“This is ferocious, this is a state of emergency out here,” said one man. “There’s no roads plowed, there’s no salt down, this is ridiculous.”
“I’ve never seen it this bad, this is terrible,” said another. “It has nothing to do with people driving fast or having all-season tires, it has a lot to do with paying millions of dollars for a service you’re not getting.”
The calls came in for 90 minutes, with driver after driver saying they had seen no or only one plow on the roads.
Many of the 100-series highways were brought to a standstill. Highway 102 was so gridlocked that some drivers left their cars to chat with other motorists.
Uphill sections of highway were impassable to most tractor-trailers because of the slippery conditions.
Two tractor-trailers jackknifed on Highway 118, temporarily closing it near Dartmouth Crossing. Many buses slid off the roads and into ditches. One articulated bus lost traction and ended up partially wrapped around a power pole.
Even some snow-clearing crews had trouble — a large salt truck got stuck midway through rush hour, causing major delays on Lacewood Drive.
Mayor Kelly says he’s taken steps to fix the problem.
“I’ve asked for information from staff,” he said. “I am concerned with the amount of calls and accidents that we had out there.”
The full cleanup effort began after midnight.
