Some streets remain unplowed, city residents say
A week after Baltimore's last significant snowfall, some residents are continuing to report that they city has not reached streets that remain impassable.
Joan Jacobson, a Lauraville resident and former Evening Sun and Sun reporter, says that as of Wednesday afternoon, there were still streets in her community that remain untouched by city plow or front-loader.
"The only street that appears plowed is Grindon Avenue, but turning on Elsrode . . . is like driving on an unpaved road in a third world country," she reports.
"As of today, the only sign of snow removal I saw was a Bobcat that came up Overland Avenue from Harford road (this is an important exit from the neighborhood that is still treacherous) but the Bobcat only removed a few inches of ice from a 20 foot stretch and left."
Another resident reported impassable roads Wednesday afternoon in the Raspeburg neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore, including Raspe Avenue and parts of Cedonia Road.
Cathy Chopper, a spokeswoman for the city Transportation Department, urged residents whose streets are still impassable to call 311. Some residents might have given up on the system siince the early days of the storms, when the lines were swamped. On Wednesday evening, I got through on the second try after a bried wait on hold.
Getting There wants to continue to monitor conditions on city streets and appreciates reports from the public. A few requests:
1.) Use your full name. The brave are simply more credible. If there are good reasons to withhold or disguise your name, those requests will be granted.
2.) Be specific as to time and place, including neighborhood name and streets by name and block.
3.) Don't embellish. If your street hasn't been cleared since last Wednesday's storm, that's a good enough story without stretching it back to the previous Sunday.
4.) Be current. Snow on the road now is news. Snow that wasn't cleared until Monday is history.
5.) Report what you know, not what your friends in another neighborhood tell you. Ask those friends to contact me directly. First-hand accounts are the only ones that are usable.
6.) Decent quality pictures of unplowed streets with very specific information as to when and where they were taken could be very useful. But send your best ONE -- not a bunch. Too many pictures crash email accounts.
Getting There thanks you.
Comments
I haven't seen any snow-removal attempts on Cambridge Street in Canton, or on any of the connecting roads. I think, because we're right off Boston and a narrow two-way, we're an afterthought.
Unfortunately all the intersections still have a thick layer of slush on top of multiple inches of ice, so cars are getting stuck just about every day.
There were crews working on Essex Street today, so maybe they'll get to Cambridge/Patterson Park/Leakin/Wagner area this week ... but I'm not holding my breath.
Posted by: Jeremy | February 17, 2010 9:06 PM
I'm in Charles Village and plenty of the tiny connector streets (e.g., Whitridge Ave, Ilchester) weren't touched. Our street, Guilford, was plowed once or twice in a slapdash manor -- several inches of compressed, icy snow remained until the weather warmed. And the plows keep pushing the snow piles in front of the gutters, leading to water and ice on the road surface.
Posted by: Melissa | February 18, 2010 1:58 PM
The past two nights it took me about 45m to get up North Charles Street. (Usually takes 10-15m.) I'm assuming it’s because there's only one lane due to snow accumulation. Is the city planning to remove that snow or are they waiting on the colleges up there?
Posted by: Anna | February 18, 2010 1:59 PM