A man attempts to stay dry while snow blowing a sidewalk during yesterday’s snowstorm. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Winter snowstorms create hazardous traveling conditions for everyone: drivers of motor vehicles, patrons of public transportation and even those traveling by air.
For those who get to their daily destinations by foot, snowstorms can be especially dangerous, as ice underfoot can lead to dangerous falls and unshoveled walkways can lead to pedestrians resorting to walking in streets, leaving them vulnerable to oncoming traffic.
Students in the city have been treated to four straight Monday snow days due to inclement weather and officials have made some of these cancellations to protect walkers from frigid snow drifts.
Westfield School Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Scallion said the safety of students who walk to school is endangered even more by unplowed sidewalks.
DR. SUZANNE SCALLION
“Our neighbors can really help us by getting their sidewalks cleared,” she said, referencing the neighborhoods around Franklin Avenue and Abner Gibbs Elementary Schools as areas that need to take better care of their sidewalks.
Of course, shoveling sidewalks often creates large snowbanks which can wall off city streets from sidewalks, creating different safety problems.
Scallion asks for drivers to exercise care around large snowbanks and to be aware of their surroundings when driving in residential neighborhoods or near schools.
“With these really high snow banks, drivers are going to be very compromised. Kids are foolish sometimes and will climb snow banks and slide off of them,” said Scallion. “Drivers need to use extreme care with giant mounds of snow.”
Casey Berube, deputy director for the city’s Department of Public Works, is well aware of this and said that the DPW will likely be using some heavy machinery to chip away at them.
“We’re going to have to use some of our loader equipment to start knocking back some of the banks,” said Berube, who also advised parents to keep their kids off of them.
“During snow removal operations, children shouldn’t be up on – or in – the snowbanks.”
Children enjoyed the freshly fallen snow as schools across the area were closed again yesterday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Poorly maintained sidewalks also make it difficult for firefighters to access fire hydrants, according to Deputy Fire Chief Mark Devine.
“We request that everybody shovel out the hydrant in front of their house and if a resident is elderly and can’t shovel it out or get anyone else to do it, we’ll provide that service if need be,” said Devine, adding that all school and municipal buildings are responsible for clearing their hydrants.
Devine said that he is aware of instances in the past when the department’s ability to fight a fire was impeded because of a snowed-in hydrant.
“We always carry shovels on the engines and when I was riding on the engines, I had to use them to dig (hydrants) out so we could run the hose lines out,” he said. “It does happen on days like this. Some people might not get to the hydrants until tomorrow.”
Asked of whether Westfield residents as a whole are good about keeping hydrants unobstructed by snow, Devine says that they are good about it for the most.
“I’d say the majority of residents are, aside from a few elderly residents who are unable to get to their hydrants, whether they’re buried because of snowplows or they physically can’t do it,” he said. “But most people are pretty good about it.”
