EDITORIAL

Rhode Island shines in storm response

Posted 1/29/15

Juno, the Blizzard of 2015, will certainly be remembered as a major winter event, if not as the all-time storm some had predicted.

Thanks to the efforts of plow drivers, public works personnel, …

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EDITORIAL

Rhode Island shines in storm response

Posted

Juno, the Blizzard of 2015, will certainly be remembered as a major winter event, if not as the all-time storm some had predicted.

Thanks to the efforts of plow drivers, public works personnel, public safety officials, utility crews and state and local leaders, it will also be remembered as a model of emergency response.

Given that the storm dumped well more than a foot of snow in most areas – with accumulation tallies often hard to pin down as a result of drift from constant winds and strong gusts – it was remarkable and welcome to hear that all was quiet, with virtually no major incidents, accidents or power outages reported.

Governor Gina Raimondo set the tone early, instituting what became a 20-hour travel ban and making it clear that Rhode Islanders should stay at home as the height of the storm passed over the state from Monday evening into Tuesday. Her warnings echoed those of the National Weather Service, which deemed the storm a “serious, life-threatening” event.

On the local level, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung and Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena sent the same message, working to ensure that residents were aware of the situation’s seriousness while managing their respective communities’ response. As each has noted, much thanks is owed to all those who worked around the clock to clear roads, assist those in need and otherwise keep our cities and towns safe.

The travel ban proved enormously successful and was honored to a remarkable degree by Rhode Island motorists. Traffic volume began to pick up slightly on Tuesday afternoon in the hours leading up to the formal lifting of the ban, but from midnight on Tuesday until 8 p.m., roads across the state were virtually vacant aside from passing plows, utility vehicles and those whose employment required them to brave the elements.

As a result, crews were able to keep main roads clear even as snow fell at the rate of several inches an hour. On Wednesday, as the storm fully faded and the sun peeked through, that work continued. And while some areas – particularly side streets – remain buried, the state is in remarkably good shape, especially in comparison to the havoc wrought by previous storms of similar scale.

“The travel ban has been extremely successful,” Raimondo said during a Tuesday press briefing. “Thank you to the people of Rhode Island for hunkering down.”

More snow is in the forecast for the coming days, meaning more hard work and long hours for those tasked with keeping our roads and neighborhoods clear and safe. We extend our thanks and appreciation to them, and we applaud our communities for working together, hunkering down and getting through what Mother Nature sent our way. With any luck, the worst has passed.

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  • ronruggieri

    I will not join the Talk Radio bunch in finding fault with local officials in dealing with the Blizzard of 2015. I do find fault with many local business owners with spacious parking lots. The lots were plowed but the sidewalks were often completely neglected. I have commented on this contempt for pedestrians in major Rhode cities: Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Pawtucket. What I observed in a car driving up Park Ave. in Cranston and Warwick Ave. in Warwick is hardly exceptional. Perhaps if they could only charge a toll for pedestrian traffic, the business Babbits might make that slightly extra effort to clear their sidewalks. See how RESPONSIBLE they are in contrast to bumbling government bureaucrats!

    ( http://radicalrons.blogspot.com/ )

    Thursday, January 29, 2015 Report this