Snow removal
As I read the news about the Boston City Council hearing on the dismal job the City of Boston performed during both of our recent brutal snow storms (“Residents slam city’s snow job,” Boston Herald, March 4,) I wish I could have attended to give them all an earful about how badly the city did when it came to snow removal. I couldn’t go and then lose my car’s parking spot at home.
What happened? I am a Bostonian born and raised. I’ve seen plenty of snow in my lifetime. I survived the Blizzard of ’78 as a 20-something over in Charlestown. I don’t want to hear excuses from the mayor and city councilors or anybody else. Yes, we had two recent back to back storms that dropped nearly 40 inches of snow. However, I remember 1978 when Boston was hit with two back to back storms. The first dropped 22 inches on Jan. 20 and the second dropped another 28 plus inches on Feb. 6 and 7. All told over 51 inches of snow to contend with.
Looking back, I think the City of Boston did a tremendous job of clearing our streets across the city back in 1978. Not so this time. I laughed when I heard the mayor stated no more space savers because the emergency was over but all I had to do was look with my own lying eyes and see the emergency was still here in East Boston and most likely the entire city.
This kind of response is not acceptable and should never happen again. Some city councilors seemed to have gotten it at this hearing but many of them are seemingly still living in la la land.
The answer is not hiring city residents at $30 an hour to shovel. The answer is not getting volunteers to shovel out the homes of the elderly. The answer is hiring enough contractors to do the job properly. F-150s and Dodge Rams simply can’t do everything that needs to be done.
I do like the idea presented by City Councilor Edward Flynn about using snow melting machines — that is at least out of the box thinking. I am old enough to remember when the City of Boston had snow melting machines. I saw them in use as a teen. I was amazed by how much good they did. To say these machines are too expense is a cop out. This winter the city has failed to meet the challenge and it is time for the people, taxpayers and both renters and homeowners to demand the city do its job and stop complaining.
The last thing I needed to see was the mayor picking up a shovel with a camera nearby smiling for a good photo. City Hall needs to stop pretending the job is getting done and just do it.
Sal Giarratani
East Boston
