Bizzard of 2010 Hits Riverbend

February 14, 2010 by
Filed under: *** Residents' Articles *** 

Wednesday brought a blast of snow the likes of which Riverbend has not felt for a few years. Our snow removal contractor, Growing Concern, made a couple of passes through the community early on but after that I didn’t see any evidence of them until after sunset.

Riverbend Drive looking east. That's a Police car facing the camera and my Jeep on the right. Most cars would require lots of work to extricate, but the Jeep drove out with just a few easy minutes of effort.

By then Riverbend Drive, a designated Snow Emergency Route, was full of activity. The township plows had already made several passes by then. Some residents struggled to dig their cars out while Fire Marshals and Police looked on from their SUVs.

Residents scramble to remove their cars from Riverbend Drive.

Some residents I spoke with were uncertain about what they’d do with their cars once they were mobile. The police summoned flatbeds to remove some cars in order to clear the way for the plows to work closer to the curb line.

Police confer with flatbed driver as he prepares to remove cars parked on Riverbend Drive, a designated Snow Emergency Route.

Speaking of the revenue stream brought by the storm, one tow driver commented, “This is blood money. We don’t like doing this any more than they do.”

I’ve known of the designation and the threat of tow for some time, but this is the first time I can recall seeing anyone actually towed away.

Car being removed from Riverbend Drive west. The unlucky resident will face a fine - plus towing plus the impound fee.

Growing Concern worked into the night to make the community parking areas passable. The township doesn’t want them piling the snow on Riverbend Drive, so they resorted to making mounds alongside some residences. The next morning brought clear skies.

Mountain of plowed snow alongside residence dwarfs a full-size pickup. Some of the holly bushes alongside the structure appear to have suffered damage in the process.

Clear skies and the Fire Marshall. He made the rounds again, this time targeting the snow mountains for removal or relocation.

Fate of snow mountains marked with orange spray paint. This one is slated for removal.

By Friday afternoon most of the cleanup had been completed, leaving only a few sidewalk transitions to be cleared again.

Yeah, I know, hindsight’s 20/20. But I think that this could have been better handled by EVERYONE involved.

  • Residents need to pay attention to what’s going on and take a little action on their own. When you see snow accumulating in your space, move your car and push the white stuff out where the plows can reach it. If you’ve got a two-car-wide space you share with a neighbor, coordinate with them. This lets our contractor work more efficiently.
  • By now Growing Concern should know quite well what the township will and will not tolerate. When they pile the stuff up it should be set back far enough that they don’t have to move it again. In other words, do it right the first time.
  • Nobody’s going to like to hear me say this, but WTF. The township needs to make it perfectly clear to residents along a designated Snow Emergency Route exactly what that designation means. Then, it needs to be enforced. Few things teach as strongly as the inconvenience – not to mention expense – of having your car towed. Whether or not the designation or the law seems fair is irrelevant. It is what it is. Live with it or work to change it. But when the application of the designation or law is spotty or inconsistent it just sends a bad message and makes people resentful.

[stepping down from my soapbox] Wow, look at the forecast. Tuesday could bring some more of the white stuff. Are you ready?

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