Massachusetts: Stampede before storm snarls Bay State roadways

[J’raxis 270145]

A nice case study in state incompetence unfolded to the south of us yesterday:—

Stampede before storm snarls Bay State roadways
Gov call to leave early pours commuters into nightmare

Tens of thousands of fuming motorists were held hostage for hours on unplowed state highways and roads yesterday, after Gov. Deval Patrick's call for state and private employees to leave work early sent everyone hitting the streets at the same time as the snow.

"I can't tell you what happened," Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge said last night. "People are going to have to examine this. We've been planning for this all week. There were no surprises. It's not like it snuck up on us. From our standpoint, it was textbook preparation."

Many commuters stuck in the mess - with a total of about 5 to 11 inches of snow in Eastern Massachusetts by last night - said officials failed miserably.

"I went through the toll booth going into the Ted Williams Tunnel. I said to the toll booth worker, 'Another great job by Massport.' He tells me it's not Massport, it's Mass Pike. They're all just passing the buck," veteran trucker John Chez of Quincy said, checking in with the Herald fromthe General Edwards Bridge in Lynn.

"I've been a truck driver for 35 years, driven through all kinds of weather," Chez said. "But for 5 inches of snow to cause a havoc like this is uncalled for and pathetic."

Gov. Patrick will be meeting with his staff this morning to examine how the crisis was managed.

"The intensity of the storm and its timing during the commute obviously contributed to the difficulties for thousands of commuters," said press secretary Kyle Sullivan. "Anyone that was caught in that commute would feel frustrated and upset. The governor had a very long commute home through the storm himself."

The Massachusetts Highway Department said nearly 4,000 pieces of snow-removal equipment had hit the roads.

"The brunt of the storm hit the region just as many people were beginning their afternoon commute, while our equipment was already out on the highways," MassHighway said in a statement.

Trooper Thomas Murphy, a spokesman for state police, said the fact that "a lot of people left work early ... had a lot do with the congestion."

[Aaaand how does the state respond to the fallout from the clusterfuck they caused? —J'raxis] "We are experiencing across the commonwealth that people have been stuck, parked their vehicles and walked away," Murphy said. "We will be towing those vehicles so the plows can get through."

One commuter who chose her sanity over her car, Sara Marranca of Dorchester, said, "I was in the Longwood area driving on Ruggles Street. I barely moved a car length in two hours. I just decided to pull over at the next bus stop and walk to the T. I couldn't see sitting there all night. I made a quick decision and hopefully I won't regret it."

Other than spinouts, neither state nor Boston police had any major accidents or bouts of snow rage to report.

MBTA buses were finding the going tough with significant delays throughout the network. Commuter rail trains were departing North and South stations about 20 minutes later than usual, T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said.

Air travelers weren't faring much better. Logan International Airport was expecting close to 400 flight cancellations - nearly a third of their daily traffic - by the storm's end, Massport spokesman Richard Walsh said.

As of 7 p.m., outgoing flights were delayed an average of two hours and cots were being offered to stranded passengers.

No such comfy accommodations were available for June Ivey, who, struggling against a tide of traffic on Memorial Drive to reach Roxbury from Cambridge, ran out of gas.

"I had to leave (my car) somewhat parked and walked a couple of blocks to get gas. It was awful," Ivey said. "I was walking in deep snow with sneakers. This is fine weather if you're cozy in the house with your family, but I'm definitely not in the holiday spirit. I feel like a grinch.

"There's fender-benders left and right," she said, "but the weather is so bad people aren't even getting out to confront one another."

Some 600 children were stranded at the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School for more than two hours as snow put the brakes on the fleet of school buses which ferry its students.

"The majority of our kids are bussed in to school and (as of 5:30 p.m.) they have just not shown up. Only 10 of our 24 buses have shown up so far," said Roger Harris, the school's superintendent.

"It is very frustrating for everyone," Harris said. "Our staff can't leave until the children have left. We couldn't close early because the majority of our kids are bussed, so the (city's) Transportation Department directs whether we are going to be open or closed. Not everyone was wise enough to call school off today."

With a nor'easter forecast to strike sometime Saturday into Sunday, Mayor Thomas M. Menino warned residents that anyone bagged plowing snow into city streets will face fines.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1050732

[David]

You gotta wonder, how long has Mass been receiving snow like this, and people still don't know how to deal with it?   

[KBCraig]

Stampede before storm snarls Bay State roadways
Gov call to leave early pours commuters into nightmare

Tens of thousands of fuming motorists were held hostage for hours on unplowed state highways and roads yesterday, after Gov. Deval Patrick's call for state and private employees to leave work early sent everyone hitting the streets at the same time as the snow.

"I can't tell you what happened," Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge said last night.

If you don't know what happened, just see Paragraph 1, above. 

"People are going to have to examine this. We've been planning for this all week. There were no surprises. It's not like it snuck up on us. From our standpoint, it was textbook preparation."

Were snowplows edited out of the textbook?

Typical bureaucrat response: "We planned it perfectly on paper, it's not our fault the people screwed it up."

[David]

In one restaurant I worked at, the district manager said there is a 'by the book' way, and then there is the real way.  The real way wasn't as pretty, but was much more effective. 

[mvpel]

My sister-in-law spent five hours on her eight-mile commute.

[JonM]

Heck, it took me well over half an hour to get over the bridge on exit 2 of route 3 to Hudson.  After that I got on back roads and was fine, but Route 3A was just as much a parking lot in NH as Route 3 was in MA.  On the other hand, NH was actually plowing, I saw no plows in MA.

[J’raxis 270145]

I wonder how much of this was waste stemming from Thursday's mistakes:—

Snow blues: State's coffers run dry
By Hillary Chabot, Eagle Boston Bureau
Article Last Updated: 12/21/2007 10:02:49 AM EST

Friday, December 21

BOSTON — A flurry of heavy storms has decimated the state's snow- and ice-removal budget, leaving MassHighway coffers empty before the first day of winter.

It's not unusual for MassHighway to run out of funding before the end of the fiscal year, said chief engineer Frank Tramontozzi. The past few winters have been mild, however, so the shortage came sooner than expected.

"We're in for a good year of spending money on snow and ice," said Tramontozzi. "This is a worse-than-normal year, but we're prepared to fight it."

The department maintains highways in the state, but not the Massachusetts Turnpike or locally maintained roads.

The state used its $24 million budget during the fall snowstorms. Tomorrow marks the first day of winter, but 26.3 inches of snow already have accumulated this fall in Pittsfield, according to the National Weather Service. MassHighway spent a total of $41 million on snow removal last year.

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Steven C. Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, said depleted funds indicate a tight budget ahead.

"We're over our budget already, and it's a real problem," he said.

Leslie Kirwan, chief of Administration and Finance, forecasts a $1.5 billion deficit for next year's budget.

MassHighway used 220,000 tons of salt on the roads last year and 155,000 tons so far this year, Tramontozzi said. It also has used 9,320 tons of sand, 4,127 tons of a salt and sand mix, and 302,000 gallons of liquid calcium chloride, which is used to pre-treat the roadways.

Despite the empty budget, nearly 400 people and 1,600 pieces of equipment were on the road yesterday to deal with a storm in the eastern part of the state, Tramontozzi said.

"This isn't any problem for us. We're out there whether or not we're out of money," he said.

The Turnpike has remained under its $2.4 million budget, so far using only $640,000 to treat the 138 miles of road.

MassHighway officials will request the needed funding in a supplemental budget as needed, Tramontozzi said.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/headlines/ci_7776157

[Puke]

I'm pretty certain that the Boston gov't will find a way to get more money.
Finding ways to cut costs (Like having fewer administrators.) will probably not be one of the ways.