SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – Last Tuesday, Central New York woke up to a chaotic and impactful snowstorm that led to many school and public institutions cancelling their activities. The storm started at around 8 a.m. with increasing snowfall that later on turned into a freezing rain. The dangerous mix of ice, snow, and sleet caused traffic to slow down and worsened travel conditions.
Among all of the obstacles that the Department faced when cleaning up roads and streets, illegal parking came up as the most burdensome one.
“Hundreds of illegally parked cars are called in every snowstorm, and we can hear it on our radio sometimes, it´s like `We can´t make it down the street,´” said Ann Fordock, deputy commissioner for the City of Syracuse.
The DPW is experimenting with new ways to better prepare for the harsh conditions of the Central New York winter.
“We are looking into new technologies, with salt that works at lower temperatures, with all kinds of things that could help clear the roads faster or better,” Fordock said.
Fordock also expanded on the most difficult areas to carry out snow removal efforts because of the parking issues that take place in those neighborhoods.
“Tipp Hill is definitely the hardest area because they park on both sides, and that is illegal, definitely. And then it is so hard to clean up. You are going to see a mess for days afterwards,” she said.
“We would ask the public to be patient, because we did not skip your street on purpose. There was probably an illegally parked car in there, and it really holds up safely,” Fordock said, citing safety challenges when operating plows in areas with cars.
The storm, named “Maya,” is expected to continue overnight and into Wednesday morning, seriously affecting travel.
