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The Official Blizzard of 2016 Thread

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by Excelsior, Jan 22, 2016.

  1. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    maybe Sunstoner is a heavy equipment salesman trying to pump up justification for new sales :banana:

    Seriously though... the argument is about building up 100% of the time to handle the 2% case. Is that much excess really needed, or could people cope with reduced movement for 3-4 days?
     
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  2. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    There is this new fangled thing on the internet called Google. It will show you numerous sites which all, pretty much, report the same stats.

    So let's prepare for the worst every year and actually get it once a decade or longer. I am not willing to foot that bill. Much like seaside communities don't spend outrageous sums to "prepare" for a hurricane that may occur once in a generation and cause significantly more damage than our "inconvenient" snow storm.

    Our "disadvantage" is an overwhelming advantage over most Counties. Our children go to school a 1/2 hour longer than most other Counties. This builds in about 14-15 days (? can someone verify the actual amount?) of extra school time that is above the State requirement. With 2 school age children, better safe than sorry.

    Can't please all of the people all of the time and yes, you are entitled to your opinion. But when the vast majority of a populace is happy with a service, that service tends to remain in business and thrive.
    Perhaps in the future, you could plan better too. If you live on a street that is difficult to plow, get a friend who can pick you up from a plowed street nearby if you need to get out.
     
    Mom23 likes this.
  3. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    Hey! Maybe we send the ENTIRE Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines when we go to war. Bring back the draft, start mandatory service... You know, just to be prepared, because just like snow in Ashburn, there is more strife in the world. I am sure it would only cost each of us a few dollars more in taxes o_O but a 40-50 million man military would certainly have us prepared!
     
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  4. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    Bad example. Seaside community homeowners insurance pay a hefty premium. We don't. Are you suggesting we take out Blizzard insurance? Most people evacuate from those during those situations. We were told to shelter in place.

    Law of diminishing returns applies. That extra thirty minutes does not correspond 1:1 to value-added learning time to compensate for lost days.

    I've been off of work since Friday at noon. I've been busy digging out my driveway, my sidewalks, and my neighbors who need help. What I awoke to on Sunday and persisted throughout the day was unsatisfactory. Satisfactory is one passable lane for emergency services, etc. What could have happened is unthinkable in that there was a real life-or-death emergency where someone may have needed emergency medical treatment. They would have had no chance.
     
  5. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    A similar conversation is happening today..but not germane to this topic.
     
  6. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    Sounds like you work for the Gov't in some capacity. Me too.
    And now on a serious note. I too was concerned about passable roads as my street was plowed only once during the storm. I am a single dad this week with my wife out of town (funny how she is ALWAYS out of town for the big storms... LOVE YA HON!) and with 2 young children and me being a slightly, ummm, older dad, I too worry about emergencies. So I hooked up with a couple of neighbors before the storm who have 4-wheel drive just in case.
     
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  7. SarasMom

    SarasMom Member

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    Same here. I've got a child with special needs and a seizure disorder. He's had to go to the hospital via ambulance before so I was also proactive and hooked up with some neighbors and we had a plan to get us out if needed.
     
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  8. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    Appreciate the anecdotal stories. Glad you all had a plan.

    In my case, there is no way that a friend's 4x4 gets to any of our front door's, by first breaking down a four-foot berm of snow at the junction of my street and Ridgeway.
     
  9. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    So now the personal insults and accusations are cranked up a notch. You poked fun at me in an earlier post. You are using the same approach of one of the other posters who's accusation was dismissed as illogical and inappropriate.

    Who I am and what I do is irrelevant; while my concern is. I can't debate you anymore. You've crossed the line with me.
     
  10. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Here is the root issue you keep missing. 'What you awoke to on Sunday' was less than 12hrs after the storm stopped. You have this irrational belief that because the storm is now over - things should be clear. Clearing takes time - and all crews were seriously held back by the blizzard conditions, extreme amount of snow, and other contributing factors that have been laid out ad nasuem. It sounds like you are relatively new to the community and region. I'm not sure what your expectations are rooted in... but they don't fit reality of this entire region.

    As for your heightened concern over emergency services - know that the county coordinates those things and when 911 calls happen. They try to divert plows to assist and handle these kinds of things every storm. It's an impact, of course, but please don't try to paint this shortcoming in your eyes as some new public safety issue.
     
  11. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    If you can't laugh at things... then maybe you take stuff too serious.
     
  12. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Oh and I just had another event canceled for this coming Saturday. Seems my friends in Clarksville, MD just had their first plow come through today.. and their streets are only just passable, and impossible to park on. I wonder if they are calling for reform of their snow removal too... since it wasn't clear Sunday morning.
     
  13. Habitat

    Habitat Member

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    Eric, come take a walk down Demott. No streets have been cleaned...Welby, Iredell, Huntsman Sq......
     
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  14. Habitat

    Habitat Member

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    And it's now Tuesday...your point is?
     
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  15. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    LOOOOONG but an update from Supervisor Matt Letourneau:

    A little bit of an update as we're into early Tuesday morning. First of all, I understand frustrations are rising rapidly and will continue to until all the streets are plowed. For those of you in a particular street or neighborhood who believe that you may have been skipped, please know that there are still thousands of other streets that haven't seen a snow plow yet. There was a lot of progress today, but it is going very, very slowly. VDOT currently has about 4,000 pieces of equipment deployed in the Northern Virginia District overnight, mostly in subdivision at this point. They are still pulling crews off for emergencies and assisting localities with medical and fire response. Many pieces of equipment, even heavier vehicles, are getting stuck on subdivision streets and that is slowing things down.

    I know there is also a lot of frustration directed at various HOA's. My experience with them during this storm is that they are all doing the best they can under virtually unprecedented circumstances. If VDOT is having an extremely hard time getting their hands on equipment capable of handling this much snow, you can only imagine how difficult it is for contractors that are working for HOA's and private companies. In many cases, HOA maintained roads still cannot be accessed because the VDOT roads that lead to them are not clear.

    I want to share a little bit more information from VDOT about how subdivisions are handled, and also how they are accessing their status as of around midnight:

    Subdivisions
    • Subdivisions are divided into sections that we call snow maps. Each snow map is about 8-10 miles, depending upon terrain, schools, or additional challenges. The Northern Virginia District contains more than 600 snow maps. When a plow driver is assigned a snow map, all of the streets on the map are listed “in progress.” When the driver returns to the area headquarters after the entire map is complete, then and only then is the map (and all of the streets contained within) listed as complete.
    • Within subdivisions, the first priority addressed is the major arteries. From there, we will address cul-de-sacs. You may see us treat a major artery several times before we address a cul-de-sac. The arteries must remain passable for the rest of our operations to be successful.
    • Smaller plow trucks are effective in conditions up to around 10”. Some parts of our district received upwards of 40”. We are using smaller trucks where they remain effective.
    • We have four times the amount of equipment as we did a few years ago, but the type of equipment that we need for this phase of the response is much larger scale.
    • To be the most efficient, we are not hauling snow, but simply moving it out of the roadway. Work in subdivisions now requires heavy equipment that must be put on trailers and driven to subdivisions. Work that would take a plow one hour to do takes between 8-10 hours for a heavy equipment to complete.

    Current Status

    • If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 9-1-1. We work with public safety and redeploy as needed to support emergency response.
    • We have seen an increase in the amount of traffic. Even if your subdivision is passable, please stay off of the roads. It slows down the movement of heavy equipment and the redeployment of smaller vehicles. As well, vehicles parked on the road can hinder the arrival of large equipment. Please use extreme caution around heavy equipment.
    • We are prioritizing streets that have not yet been plowed.
    • We are making real progress on the interstates. They are passable, but not all lanes are open. As is the case with major arterials, they have required additional treatment to address melting and refreezing issues. For your own safety, use extreme caution when entering and exiting the interstates.
    • The primary roads are progressing, but expect merging difficulties and limited visibility as turn lanes and ramps remain hazardous.
    • The demand on our customer service center has caused server problems. They are being addressed, but we implore residents to not call the customer service center. We are aware of which streets have been completed and which are still outstanding. We have not forgotten about anyone. (end of VDOT message)

    This is one of the most significant weather events to ever occur in Virginia. It has been extremely taxing on everyone. The VDOT officials that I am in touch with have been responsive 24-7 and I doubt that any of them have slept in days. I know there will be plenty of discussion about preparation, but the truth is that this part of the country gets these events so infrequently that no amount of preparation will result in being able to handle it much better than this. There is simply not physically enough equipment and manpower to do it. While heavy equipment is being brought in from other states, those states didn't release it until the storm was over and they knew whether or not they needed it.

    Loudoun County will be having a news conference at 11 AM on Tuesday with VDOT to discuss the current status of the County. This news conference can be watched on cable, Verizon Channel 40, Comcast 23. I do expect and am hoping for a little better information on subdivision roads tomorrow morning. If there is anything useful, I will share it.

    Finally for tonight, I want to thank all the good neighbors that have been helping out on their streets, with elderly infirmed and others who need it. For all of the online griping, there are numerous positives stories in our neighborhoods. I also want to think the outstanding job that that the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and Loudoun County Fire-Rescue are doing. To give you some perspective, on Sunday alone, when virtually no subdivision roads had been touched, LCFR handled 147 incidents and safely transported 80 patients to the hospital (including some babies that needed to be born!). They responded to 23 fire alarms, 15 gas leaks and even provided mutual aid to a major fire in one of our neighboring jurisdictions. That's just one day of the storm. I know we're all thankful for them. Hang in there.
     
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  16. boomertsfx

    boomertsfx Booyakasha!

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    I'm curious to know how the snow removal contract works. Is it a flat rate or are we in for another special assessment? Hopefully not!
     
  17. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Gee, I wonder why with your continual baseless accusations.
     
  18. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    I'm still waiting for you to answer my question I posed yesterday.
    What preparations could they have done with a week's notice? Have you been watching the news? All over Loudoun, including in Lansdowne, South Riding, Ashburn Farm there are still HOA and VDOT streets that have not been touched.
    How is our contractor somehow worse than the rest of MD/VA/DC?
    I hope you have viewed the glowing reports and pictures of the job our contractor is doing when they get to the streets.
    Patience is a virtue. We are not worse off than anywhere else in the region, and much better done than some.
     
  19. Excelsior

    Excelsior Southern Walk||IMPERIUM IN IMPERIO||

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    I'm not in the plow business as others have insinuated, with derogatory remarks suggesting that I am new to the area and don't understand Northern Virginia. Not the case, but none of anyone's business as to the specifics.

    I can't answer the question to your satisfaction, so I take it you've posed a rhetorical question.

    The only statement I'll make against your argument that we are "less worse off" is that those aren't our problems. We have a contract, with clauses, conditions, etc. I don't have access to the specifics, as an individual homeowner nor should I because I am not on the HOA Board of Broadlands Association.

    Your attempts to paint me into a corner and make me appear as insensitive and ignorant don't do anything to counter my argument that our HOA Contractor (the one we hire and maintain on a perennial basis) did not perform admirably.
     
  20. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    So you want to remain.. nameless.. faceless.. invisible.. and ignorant of the specifics.. yet remain fully qualified to judge the outcome and the process leading up to it.

    Step back and read that a few times, and look in the mirror and see how much weight would go into that opinion.

    This isn't youtube... or some random news page where people hide behind anonymous identities and prat on from some internet throne. This is a neighborhood, a community, filled with people that work together to make it a great place to live. If people aren't willing to actually put some gumption behind their advocacy... then who is the board really going to listen to? Some identity online, or residents with specific items, issues, and topics brought to them from verifiably sources and content that can be verified...

    If you just want to rant online and remain faceless.. that's fine. But don't expect people to flock to your cause when people don't agree, nor will the board give your claims much mindshare.
     
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