City digs out from March storm mess
Those who bet against the power of a Nor’easter bringing heavy snowfall in late March bet wrong as more than a foot of snow fell on the Blackstone Valley and made good on warnings for an extension of winter.
As the heaviest snowfall hit the area around noontime, city highway crews were out in force but still having difficulty keeping the main roads free of fast falling and blowing snow. And then in the mid-afternoon the snow became heavier as temperatures rose closer to
freezing and the threat of a change to drizzle loomed.
Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt commended city plowing crews for their work to keep the main roads open and also cautioned local seniors from engaging in too much shoveling due the risk the heavy covering on the ground posed to their health.
“Residents should be careful shoveling and seniors should not do a lot of heavy lifting to shovel,” she said.
Elderly residents could look for help from younger neighbors or even hire someone willing to do the heavier work for them, she offered.
Public Works Director Steve D’Agostino had an unofficial snow fall of 12 inches by about 2:30 p.m.
Chief Thomas F. Oates III said the storm did result in some accidents occurring on local roads on Tuesday, including one in which a vehicle struck a pole on Cass Avenue, but none of incidents resulted in serious injuries. Residents appeared to be heeding earlier warnings to stay home, which likely helped keep the number of accidents down, he added.
The police department had towed approximately 60 vehicles not heeding the parking ban by about 11 a.m. and Oates said he was disappointed that all of the public appeals conducted prior to the storm had not reduced that number more significantly.
“We would rather have compliance than to have to deal with the tagging and removal of the cars,” Oates said.
Oates also warned residents against dumping snow from their properties in the roadway as that could also impede clearing operations. The city has ordinances against such incidents and those would be enforced as well, Oates said.
The city experienced some power outages at the height of the storm, one in the Clinton Street area that put the Police Station on that street and Fire Department Headquarters on Cumberland Street on their emergency generators for about 45 minutes, according to Public Safety Director Eugene Jalette.
The outage appeared to be related to a transformer tripping off in Social District, according to Jalette.