Snow Removal?

I've just experienced my first big snow in the country. Maybe 4-6 inches fell. It's not a "big" snowfall, but it's the hardest so far here. Our previous state was known for heavy snow and so I was well versed in icy conditions and slush. I had a daily commute on mostly interstate highways of 45 minutes one way on a good day, and up to 2 hours in bad weather. I scheduled my work hours based on traffic patterns and weather because the highways were always backed up even in good weather. No matter how heavy the snowfall, the plows and salt trucks were out all hours until the bad conditions on the highways and local roads were gone. I often needed to wash my car because salt trucks were liberal with their supply on the highways. Even my subdivision in the city was plowed at least a day after a hard snowfall. Seeing the salt trucks and snowplows was a common sight.

So now, back to my experience in the country. I now have a commute from a city to the country with the majority of the drive on smaller, 2-lane highways. I assumed that since the traffic is always light, that driving on highways in snowy weather would be much easier than my previous experience. I was wrong. The major highway through town and the main streets don't appear plowed because apparently the town doesn't put the blade all the way down so as to conserve wear and tear. Seriously...this is what I was told. Since there remains a good two-inch layer of snow left on the roads, salt is almost useless - it can't reach the ice. Last night after dinner, the roads were still in this unplowed looking condition and we continued to slip and skid even though the majority of the snowfall had stopped hours before. No truck or plow was in sight.

As I read today's paper, I came across an article about the county worrying that it won't use up all of it's salt supply this year since they haven't had to use as much as in a usual year. I puzzled over this one. One of the main purposes of government is the safety of its people. It's why we hire police officers, fire fighters, dispatchers, and EMS personnel. Included in this is maintaining safe roads. I certainly would be fine with paying a little more in property taxes for the snowplows to put the blade all the way to the pavement, for more salt to hit the roads, and for the neighborhoods to get at least one pass from the plows. So now, after 36 hours since the snow fell, my street is still covered in slush. UGH!

On a good note, one of my neighbors used his snow-blower and blew out the snow from my front sidewalk. I watched him plow out the sidewalks on the entire street. That was kind of him. My husband often does that for others too. He shoveled out two of our neighbors drives without their knowledge. So while the county hasn't kept up with keeping our roads safe, I have a neighbor who took the time to make sure that those who walk on our neighborhood sidewalks will be. That's twice now in the past month that I've observed a neighbor acting in a neighborly way without looking for a thank-you. Honestly, I didn't witness that very often in the city.