After last weekend's snowstorm, streets in cities across the East Coast are crowded with dirty snow piles that squeeze pedestrians into single-file corridors and force them into gross half-frozen puddle swamps at intersections. But of the major metros, only Washington, D.C., closed its schools through Wednesday, finally reopening on Thursday with a delayed start time - all this despite receiving just six or so inches (plus, to be fair, a treacherous coating of ice on top).
"Solid ice." "Outrageous." "Not fair." These are some of the comments bike riders posted on Tuesday night and earlier today about conditions on the Queensboro Bridge bike lane more than two days after a fairly insignificant snowfall ended on Sunday night. Photographic evidence suggests that the Department of Transportation did not fully clear the way for riders - many of whom are delivery workers - on the second-busiest East River bridge (and the only one to link Queens directly to Manhattan Island).
Showcased in a video by Kentucky-based TikTok user @pstevenson (which was reposted by the weather app Accuweather), this method of snow removal relies on covering the area - in this case, his car and walkway - with a large, thick plastic sheet or tarp before it starts to snow. For his car, he secures a part of the sheet inside of the door to prevent it from sliding off.
The sanitation department unveiled four new brine trucks - upping its fleet to 17 - to not only prepare the on and off ramps of major New York City highways, but also cover additional miles of highway for the first time. "We're looking at new technology ... every single year to make this operation run smoother and more efficient," DSNY Chief of Bureau Operations James Miglino said at the agency's Hudson Square garage.
