“The snowplows were ready, the sand trucks deployed. Officials felt this month’s ice storm — unlike the one that paralyzed the region during the 2011 Super Bowl week — would be handled better. But the ice came down thicker than expected, the snowplows did little good and before the proper equipment could be relocated, the Dallas-Fort Worth area was again locked in ice.
“Now officials are left to assess what went wrong and how they can better prepare when the next major winter storm grips North Texas,” The Associated Press has reported.
“It seems to me most winters we have one period or another of a week or so where we get snow and ice or whatever, but we’re not geared up for dealing with it,” one driver was quoted as saying.
I understand the frustration but this is little different than those in my city who act as if flooded intersections after a fast downpour are a sign of incompetence. Most of us live in a semi-arid climate where there simply isn’t enough rain to justify the enormous expense of underground drainage systems under our cities. The streets are designed to be the drainage system and thus they flood for a bit after a big rain event.
As to ice in North Texas, the question becomes: Is an event or two annually worth the massive cost to taxpayers of owning capital equipment and paying extra employees for three hundred and sixty days per year so they can fight ice for five? Nothing is free my friends.
Cost versus benefit on Texas icy roads
“The snowplows were ready, the sand trucks deployed. Officials felt this month’s ice storm — unlike the one that paralyzed the region during the 2011 Super Bowl week — would be handled better. But the ice came down thicker than expected, the snowplows did little good and before the proper equipment could be relocated, the Dallas-Fort Worth area was again locked in ice.
“Now officials are left to assess what went wrong and how they can better prepare when the next major winter storm grips North Texas,” The Associated Press has reported.
“It seems to me most winters we have one period or another of a week or so where we get snow and ice or whatever, but we’re not geared up for dealing with it,” one driver was quoted as saying.
I understand the frustration but this is little different than those in my city who act as if flooded intersections after a fast downpour are a sign of incompetence. Most of us live in a semi-arid climate where there simply isn’t enough rain to justify the enormous expense of underground drainage systems under our cities. The streets are designed to be the drainage system and thus they flood for a bit after a big rain event.
As to ice in North Texas, the question becomes: Is an event or two annually worth the massive cost to taxpayers of owning capital equipment and paying extra employees for three hundred and sixty days per year so they can fight ice for five? Nothing is free my friends.