Worcester Struggles With Early Snow Storms

Thursday, January 21, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team and Kate Nagle

Last winter, Worcester set records for snow fall and led the country with the most snow accumulation

This winter there has been minimal snow, but maximum incompetence in dealing with the snow and implementing even simple parking bans.

For Worcester and its famed seven hills, managing storms, plowing and snow removal is run of the mill, but not this winter.

For many, the City’s response is frustrating. “I think people are frustrated. Who's accountable? When you have the Commissioner of Public Works who lives in Sturbridge, and the assistant who's somewhere else, who's the boots on the pavement?” said John Giangregorio, a leading business leader and former head of the Canal District.

The first storm, the City of Worcester did not treat the streets and many hills creating a traffic nightmare and dozens of accidents. City Manager Ed Augustus was forced to issue Worcester residents an apology. “We made a judgement call that unfortunately turned out to be the wrong one. As a result, many of the City's streets were not in the condition our taxpayers have the right to expect,” said Augustus in his apology issued on December 31st.

Then this past week, Worcester issued a parking ban at 11:30 pm after most city residents had gone to bed. The city then ticketed hundreds of cars and an undisclosed number were towed.

By Wednesday, Augustus had to issue yet another apology: “In an effort to thoroughly clear the city’s streets during Sunday’s snowstorm, a parking ban was declared at 11:30 pm Sunday. Because it did not become apparent that plowing would be necessary until late Sunday, the timing of the declaration did not allow residents ample time to move their vehicles or the City the time required to communicate this overnight through all media and social media outlets. Therefore, general forgiveness is being granted for all tickets issued in relation to the parking ban declared between January 17th and 18th. People who received tickets may simply ignore them.”

Giangregorio, tells GoLocalWorcester, “The new folks really aren't the news folks. This is a tired old bureaucracy, they're not bringing anything new to table and they're messing up. I don't know what they're doing over there.”

The city of Worcester has approximately 500 miles of roads that require treatment and plowing during each storm. This weekend, New England could get hit with a significant snow fall, although the most recent modeling shows that after dropping more than a foot on the mid-Atlantic it may pass just south of New Enlgand.

“I think eventually they'll get their act together. But why are they letting us down? Plowing's never been great in the Canal, do they just not care?" said Giangregorio

Related Slideshow: The 10 Worst Blizzards in Central MA History

Prev Next

#10 Blizzard of February 2006

Dates: February 11-13, 2006

Accumulation: Approximately 22 inches

This Nor'easter interrupted everybody's Valentine's Day plans, and resulted in coastal flooding and heavy snow.

Prev Next

#9 Blizzard of December 2010

Dates: December 22-29, 2010

Accumulation: Approximately 24 inches

A State of Emergency was declared in Boston when this Christmas storm hit and kept families home for the holidays. Worcester saw two feet of snow during this white Christmas.

Prev Next

#8 NEMO 2013

Dates: February 7-18, 2013

Accumulation: Approximately 25 inches

NEMO singlehandedly shut down every road in Worcester. Dropping more than two feet of snow in the city, a driving ban was put into effect.

Prev Next

#7 Nor'Easter of '69

Dates: February 8-10, 1969

Accumulation: Approximately 26 inches

Bryan Adams didn't write a song about Nor'Easter of '69 because it would have been miserable to listen to. Even worse to experience.

Prev Next

#6 Blizzard of February 2003

Dates: February 14-19, 2003

Accumulation: Approximately 27.5 inches

This storm interrupted both Valentine's Day and President's Day. Named 'President's Day Storm II,' this storm set a record in Boston with more than 27 inches.

Prev Next

#5 Blizzard of January 1996

Dates: January 6-10, 1996

Accumulation: Approximately 30 inches

Not even a week into 1996, this storm blanketed parts of Massachusetts with upwards of 30 inches of snow. It is one of two blizzards to receive an “extreme” rating on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale.

Prev Next

#4 Blizzard of February 1978

Dates: February 5-7, 1978

Accumulations: Approximately 32 inches

Many in the Worcester area argue that this is the worst storm the city has ever seen. 73 people in Massachusetts died because of this storm. At the time, it set a Boston record for 32 inches of snow over a 2 day period.

Prev Next

#3 April Fool's Blizzard of 1997

Dates: March 30 - April 1, 1997

Accumulations: Approximately 33 inches

This storm wasn't messing around with anyone. Over three days, and ending on April Fool's Day, the storm dropped 33 inches of snow on Central MA.

Prev Next

#2 Blizzard of January 2005

Dates: January 20-23, 2005

Accumulations: Approximately 40 inches

This three-day storm droppped nearly 40 inches of snow in Central Massachusetts over a 3 day period.

Prev Next

#1 Great Blizzard of 1888

Dates: March 11-14, 1888

Accumulations: Approximately 50 inches

One of the most severe recorded blizzards in the history of the United States, this superstorm dumped as much as 50 inches of snow in parts of Massachusetts. It affected the entire country.

In New York City, they suffered so much damage to power lines and cables, that this storm single handedly is responsible for implementing running cable underground.