My reaction to weather reports these days tends to be “Seriously!?”
I’m sure I’m not alone.
I’ve never wanted to live in a part of the country without snowy winters. (Of course, this winter it seems I could relocate anywhere in the country.)
Still the frequency of snow and accumulation amounts is taking its toll. I know my street isn’t the only one tough to navigate with its increasing snowbanks.
More concerning, I’ve been hearing about the shortage in salt supplies for DPWs in the region. So I thought I’d check in with our town’s department to see how we are dealing with it.
Department of Public Works Director Karen Galligan reports:
Our salt supply is depleted, we have some left, hopefully enough to get through todays storm. We have been putting more sand in the mix to stretch our salt supply and we have been adjusting our use to treating the main and secondary roads and the hills at the beginning of a storm, then, at the end of the storm, treating everywhere. It’s not that the budget to purchase salt is depleted, the problem is the supply. We have been waiting several weeks for deliveries and haven’t received any.
On the bright side, any snow this week is it won’t add to the school snow days.
It does mean more time trapped in the house with our kids and more shoveling for us. I have a solution for that though.
Point your kids towards the driveway and hand them shovels for some “snow fun”.
Explain that driveway snow is the best kind of snow for building forts and snowmen with. “When snow is shoveled through the air to land on the lawn, it gets stronger. You’ll understand why when you’re older.”
(It’s not forced labor if they think they’re doing it for fun.)
Pitchers and Catchers reported last weekend. A sure sign of Spring (I hope).
I know the Town has a Sidewalk Blower. Why aren’t the Main Street sidewalks clear of snow as of Wednesday @ 10:00 am? Most Towns clear their sidewalks during and after a storm. Southborough seems to be short staff, low on funding or doesn’t consider foot traffic a priority or maybe it’s time for a new leader in the DPW. Southborough is no longer a little farm town!
They’ve been really speedy getting to the sidewalks on Cordaville Road this year. Perhaps getting commuters to the train station is getting higher priority with limited resources?
Not all the sidewalks have been cleared. Southville Road near the train Station has not been cleared, and commuters like me have to walk in the street. Can the DPW call on business owners to help clear the sidewalks in front of their properties if they can’t get to it?
I think Southboro does a pretty good job with sidewalks. We lived in Upton for a while and not only did they do a horrible job clearing sidewalks, the sidewalks themselves were so bad we frequently walked in the street.