Westfield DPW Clearing Snow From Downtown (see videos)

     The Fact of The Matter brought to its readers, pictures of snowbound parking meters, inaccessible handicapped ramps, and crosswalks all due to the accumulation of snow in the CBD.  It appears that town officials have finally responded.   See videos at bottom of story.

E. Broad St. & Central Ave.

Municipal Parking Lot

    

     In the early morning hours today (Saturday), the Westfield DPW was hard at work clearing snow from the central business district.  DPW Superintendent Claude Shaffer summoned his "SWAT" team to take out one of Mother Nature's worst criminals............SNOW!

North Ave. & Prospect St.

     After being attacked by several major snow storms this winter, the shopping district had been robbed of its identity.  Local merchants have been struggling to attract customers as a result of snow piled high throughout the downtown making parking a nightmare and pedestrian travel unsafe. 



"Walkway" sign on Elm St.

      Pedestrians have been forced, in some circumstances, to walk in the street to the nearest corner hoping to find an opening in the snowbank to       gain access to a safer route of travel, a sidewalk.
    

     In the past, DPW crews would remove the snow from downtown and cart it off to Memorial Pool's parking lot or to the town dump on Lambertsmill Rd.  This year's budget crunch has handcuffed local governments causing them to cutback, or eliminate, some services. 



Quimby St.



     With another "snow event" on its way Tuesday night, being dubbed "The Groundhog Day Storm" by some news outlets, DPW crews were running out of places to put the snow as they plowed downtown streets.  With record amounts of snow so far this winter, February and March will no doubt add to the record breaking totals.    

Check out the videos of DPW crews hard at work this morning in downtown Westfield.  At the end of video one, a DPW supervisor in a blue pickup truck pulls up and asks if we are getting any good pictures.  Our response was a "thumbs up" on the pictures and also for the efforts of the DPW crews.  Keep up the good work.

 

For related stories, click on the following links 

http://07090.blogspot.com/2011/01/victorias-secret-is-skibitskis-sercret.html

http://07090.blogspot.com/2011/01/to-pay-or-not-to-pay.html