huh7891

Fri, Feb 1, 2013 : 3:41 a.m.

I'm guessing the roads weren't salted or plowed because the employees that do the work couldn't get to work like the rest of us...my drive took over two hours to go less than 13 miles.....I watched as police and ambulances tried to pass a line of cars not moving and traffic from the opposite direction kept moving toward them and didn't pull over. Get a clue people, when you hear and see first responders stop and pull over...

eom

Fri, Feb 1, 2013 : 3:26 a.m.

Snow wasn't the problem. Ice, that was the problem. My 2.4 mile commute took 40 minutes. The west side of the city was hit hard and fast - accidents everywhere you looked, and both Miller and 7th were parking lots. Newport was a hilly ice rink and Huron was downright dangerous. I never saw a snow plow or a salt truck on my "commute" this morning. Two thumbs down for the road commission.

jns131

Fri, Feb 1, 2013 : 2:54 a.m.

I remember a long time ago that on the first signs of NWS giving us a warning or advisory, salt trucks went out in force. Now that the county is for all intense purposes, broke, they do not salt on a whim they wait now until the last minute when roads head south to salt. Which IMO? Is too little too late. Wayne county salts when NWS says jump they say how high. Washtenaw does not do this anymore. They now send trucks out when trucks are needed. Too little to late Washtenaw. Take a hint from Wayne County.

OLDTIMER3

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 10:53 p.m.

If I am not mistaken , Washtenaw county road crews do not work on the Interstate roads , they take care of county roads while the State Highway Department takes care of the Interstate roads.

shepard145

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 10:45 p.m.

Once again, Washenaw County and Ann Arbor lock arms in failure to make the roads safe during common winter weather. Everyone involved should be fired immediately. ....remember today when you read about how City Council can't figure out how to hire someone who can get simple jobs like this done, but his really super worried about cross walks, phones and texting. FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN CLEAR THE ROADS!!

YpsiCityMomma

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 10:42 p.m.

As far as budgets go, the county reported that they had a surplus of funds last spring/summer due to a mild winter and that meant more money could be spent on road repairs. I'm all for fixing some of the swiss cheese holed roads throughout the county, but I certainly hope this alleged surplus was not moved completely from one basket to another. That being said, I watched the weather last night and followed reports from various sources. I went to bed knowing and fully expecting it be a mess this morning. Even though the snow did not make an appearance until closer to day time, my family was prepared in advance in case we would need to move earlier. The fact that temperatures were going to drop dramatically (as reported on A2.com and every other news source), I would have thought that the county would have been better prepared. All of our snow melted, temps were near 60, and we've had rain. All that water does freeze, and that should have been taken care of. This isn't a "oh gosh, it snowed suddenly and we have no idea how to handle it" situation. The county did another major disservice to its residents. There were no trucks out Friday or Saturday in the A2/Pittsfield area. It was obvious going down Washtenaw Ave and the road was nothing but snow, ice, and slush. What gives? Why did it take three days for trucks to clear the roads within the county (and no, I am not talking secondary roads). As I see it, from an extreme local standpoint, if the county can't clear the roads and treat them in a timely matter, than the city of Ypsilanti can get off their residents' cases about clearing their walkways within 48 hours of a snowfall. Fair is fair.

Kent Jocque

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 10 p.m.

It costs money to clear roads and the Road Commission has to live within its budget, See: http://www.annarbor.com/news/township-residents-in-washtenaw-county-will-bear-brunt-of-snow-removal-cutbacks-this-winter/ "Despite efforts to reduce overtime costs, [Steve Puuri, the Road Commission's managing director] said the agency still expects to pay more for winter maintenance this year than last year due to increasing prices for salt, fuel, equipment rental, and employee wages. Agency leaders say salt prices are about 40 percent higher this winter. The Road Commission has already purchased 13,500 tons and plans to go through 20,000 tons before the season is over. The Road Commission saw about a 40 percent increase in the price of salt this season. The agency now expects to spend about $1 million on salt before the winter is over. Puuri said the Road Commission has paid between $47 and $54 per ton for salt this year. "It's a tremendous amount of money that gets poured out the tailgates," he said. "You're talking a million dollars"

nekm1

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 9:41 p.m.

slow down...way down. It is winter.

pb

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 9:32 p.m.

Since so many of the (rather unjustified, in my opinion) complaints are being upvoted, I thought I would add a couple comments from the other side: First, if you read the weather predictions, which are notoriously inaccurate, you would have seen that there was no indication that we should expect anything more than random snow showers. Second, the snow arrived very quickly, and fell very heavily in a fairly narrow band. I don't think that radar soundings showed either the intensity, or the immediacy of the snowfall. Third, many of the driving issues were, from what I could see, just that: Problem drivers, of whom there are many, who failed to exercise caution, or exercised panic, or exercised too much caution. I understand expecting responsibility from the Road Commission, but most of what has been posted smacks more of unenlightened blame-casting. At any rate, weather here is, by nature, unpredictable, and the local prognosticators are among the worst. If you really expected the WCRC to be prepared, perhaps you should have been, as well.

Gramma

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 9:17 p.m.

Plows are totally worthless until the snow begins piling up. Salt does not help on snow. The county road departments cannot do anything about the lack of visibility while it is snowing. It is not logical to expect to make a usually 15 minute drive in 15 minutes when the weather conditions are bad. Stay off the roads unless you have to be out there. Don't cuss those salt truck drivers when the salt they are spraying is hitting your car. Be sure you have sufficient windshield washer fluid to wash away the salt water sprayed on your car by other vehicles. It dries to an opaque white. Clear more than a 6 inch peep hole in the snow on your windshield and rear window. And the drivers are blaming the road commissions?

justcurious

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 8:34 p.m.

Why was my comment on The Road Commission deleted? I did not call names or use bad language or anything else. Please explain.

justcurious

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 8:29 p.m.

My comment on the Road Commission was deleted for reasons unknown to me...this Commissioner has certainly had a long run.. "Fred J. Veigel Member of the Board Fred Veigel has served on the Washtenaw County Board of Road Commissioners since he was first appointed by the County Board of Commissioners in December of 1990 and officially assumed his Road Commissioner position in January 1991. Commissioner Veigel's current term will expire effective December 31, 2014. In addition to being a member on the Road Commission Board, Veigel has previously held the positions of both Chair and Vice-Chair of the WCRC Board throughout his term of appointment. A graduate from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School, Veigel has been a long time resident of Washtenaw County and Ypsilanti. He graduated from Local 252 IBEW with a 4-year electrical apprenticeship in 1958, is a U.S. Army veteran, and has held a multitude of prominent public service positions in the County that span over 40 years."

going nowhere

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 8:23 p.m.

everyone thinks it went from rain to ice this morning. I'm sure while all of you were in bed all warm , you didn't see that all the freeways were clear and dry at 5 a.m. not a problem anywhere....the snow came fast and hard.....when you put salt down on a dry freeway for your so called pre-treatment..the traffic just blows it all in the ditch . so that doesn't work like salting a driveway or parking lot....where traffic is barely moving...common sense should tell people that

Woman in Ypsilanti

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 8:22 p.m.

I am just curious. Has the road funding been cut due to budget concerns? Because if so, then it doesn't seem fair to expect them to provide the same level of service they have been providing all along? Are we, as a community, willing to pay what it takes to ensure clear roads in the early morning after an overnight snow storm? I am but I am not so sure about my neighbors.

A2comments

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 8:20 p.m.

So I get that an ambulance from out of the area was involved. Twice... M-14 west was a parking lot from US-23 at 7:15. Took nearly 50 minutes to drive what is a 15 minute drive.

Skoob

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 8:01 p.m.

You want bad winter roads, try travelling in Lenawee county. I think they may have traded all their salt trucks for Zamboni's. As we drive from Lenawee into Washtenaw each morning, we are greeted by roads not covered with 2 inches of ice. You could go out right now and physically see the county lines, based on road conditions. Just ask my son, who last week wrapped his car around a road sign on a ice covered Lenawee county road. Two miles down the road, Washtenaw county roads were merely wet.

Timber

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 7:56 p.m.

This quote is from earlier article on an arbor.com. "Jim Harmon, director of operations for the Washtenaw County Road Commission, said most snowplow drivers reported at 7 a.m. Thursday and were heading out to their routes. A few drivers had been called in early to deal with trouble spots." With all the advance notice from the weather service that rain would changing over to snow - why in the world would Washtenaw County Road Commission schedule most of their salt & snow plow drivers to report in at 7AM ?? By 7am many people are well on their way to work or school. They need to schedule drivers to report in at 4am-5am to get the roads treated for the normal morning rush traffic. Absolutely NO EXCUSE to schedule their crews to begin treating the roads at 7am!!

Robot Charles

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 7:11 p.m.

Respect Mother Nature. Just because there's a road doesn't mean it's always safe to drive on.

treetowncartel

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 7:05 p.m.

Is the picture above taken by the person driving the car?

Phil

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 6:59 p.m.

I don't understand why the commissioners and other local reps aren't being held responsible to these problems with our roads when the weather is bad. The neglect and lack of proactive maintenance leads to loss of life and property. No wonder insurance premiums in this state continue to skyrocket! I expect that if an employee is doing a crappy job for a company they are reprimanded or fired! Why is it always that these county and local governments escape responsibility?

JRW

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 6:29 p.m.

"Another multi-vehicle crash closed U.S. 23 near Milan Thursday morning, but no serious injuries were reported in that crash. The crash was first reported about 6:30 a.m. on southbound U.S. 23 between Carpenter and Plank roads, Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said. A car was stuck under a semi and the driver required extrication, Joyce Williams with HVA said. Milan firefighter Greg Brierley said eight to 12 vehicles were involved in the crash and other crashes then occurred north and south of the first crash. HVA transported two people to the University of Michigan Hospital and one to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Williams said." Cars stuck under semis? 8-12 vehicles in a crash? And none of this is serious? It's totally inexcusable that the county does NOT pre-treat of salt in advance of these storms. There is plenty of warning for the snowfall and yet the county does not act!!!!! It really is inexcusable.

pegret

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 6:29 p.m.

Both of you are absolutely right about the lack of preparedness. Even at almost 8 am, I-94 just west of Ann Arbor was a parking lot and Wagner Rd. was nearly impassable due to all of the accidents and cars stuck on the ice going every which-way. The police and ambulances were having a very hard time getting through. Same scenario on Newport Rd. A little bit of salt would have alleviated most of the problems, and saved motorists a lot of grief and money. Well, at least the body shops will be busy.

JRW

Thu, Jan 31, 2013 : 5:59 p.m.

OK. With all of this advance notice, what will be the excuse of the road commission and city not to plow or salt????? Somehow, regardless of how much advance warning these storms have, neither the road commission nor the city get their trucks out IN ADVANCE to do salting and pre-treat the roads, as is done in other cities and counties in Michigan. Washtenaw County and A2 are the WORST in the state for road maintenance. Oh, that's right. The city skimmed off funds from road maintenance in A2.....for that ugly public art!