THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601120004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
This is my first winter in Norfolk after living many years in Connecticut and Ohio. Hence, I was appalled at the city's cavalier response to the snowfall of Jan. 6.
No number of incompetent drivers can equal the chaos generated by insufficient road clearance. I saw no evidence of so much as a salt truck after several hours of snow on such roads as Military Highway and Little Creek Road. Are these roads considered secondary and thus of low priority?
Even on Sunday, roads such as Virginia Beach Boulevard had not seen a snowplow. Then it rained all day Sunday, filling the streets with water because the storm drains were clogged with unplowed slush. Is it any wonder that the streets were icy Monday morning?
I did notice some patches on Monday that had been salted, but no coherent plan was visible. I am only grateful that most drivers appeared to be so frightened that they drove carefully for a change, as the city provided them no meaningful assistance.
ALAN A. RECHEL
Norfolk, Jan. 8, 1996 by CNB