This is a quick one, hey Mr. Mayor I bet the $100,000 you spent on police overtime on November 11 and the $300,000 plus spent on the concert fiasco is doing you good right now. You sure did lose my vote this time around imagine if you would have taken the $400,000 and spent it on plowing the roads mid day yesterday for our record snow fall. A foot of snow on the highway and major traffic routes really at 5:00 pm is unacceptable. Do you even care about us taxpayers oh wait you don’t. How many people had accidents yesterday due to the new and improved plow system (our cars and transit buses). How many buses got stuck yesterday or left passengers stranded. I bet you were nice and safe on your commute home probably took a cab at our expense. Tell you what, why don’t you go take a swim in the harbour oh wait you can’t because of all the snow fall it’s now unsafe to swim in again. Be a polar bear and take a dip. —Disgruntled Taxpayer, Former Voter, Driver and Caring Parent Whose Kid Had to Go School Yesterday
This article appears in Nov 24-30, 2011.
You voted for him last time around?
This bitch jumps to so many conclusions it makes my brain hurt.
OB, no one forced your kid to go to school except you.
Former Voter? You don’t vote anymore? Hence your problem…….and about your spawn having to go to school? WTF, keep the wimp at home if you think the wind might blow his tu-tu too tight around his tootsicles.
Our snow removal budget is already exhausted for this year. Because of those screwups, our snow removal budget only consisted of 40 bucks, a couple 2cents off per liter at Irving coupons and half a twix bar. From today forward we are all responsible for removing the snow from the road in front of our homes.
I’ve already cleared mine SHITD…problem is all that land on both sides of the highways, that isn’t owned by a person.
But I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the budgets already spent.
apparently if you were stuck indoors somewhere…
the live weather cams were quite a comical relief.
I’m no Kelly fan but last time I saw he’s not wearing a red cape and tights, at least not at work, on his own time is his, anywho everything has to come from council or the rest of the Justice League. If your not going to vote to help change things then shut your pie hole. I maybe wrong but as far as school closure doesn’t that come from the School Boards?
I don’t think taking a cab is any safer, we don’t have cabs that float over the snow yet.
I’m not defending the mayor, but I think OB needs to do a little research on a few of his points before spouting off:
1. HRM does not plow the highways. The NS DOT does. (This includes the Circ and Magazine Hill) They are provincial gov’t, not municipal. See http://eservices.halifax.ca/StreetDirector…
2. The majority of the accidents yesterday were a result of poor judgement/lack of care by drivers and people getting caught without snow tires. This happens EVERY DAMN YEAR. The very first major snowfall of the year turns into a giant clusterfuck because the majority of people’s common sense and winter driving skills become non-existent. It’s almost like this is their first time driving in snow. People need to get their heads out of their asses.
3. The mayor has no say on when a school closes or stays open. That decision falls to the superintendent of the Halifax Regional School Board. HRM provides some funding to the HRSB but so does the NS Dept of Education. (provincial)
See here:
http://www.hrsb.ns.ca/files/Downloads/pdf/…
4. As for swimming in the harbour…well, it was a tad nipply out yesterday but regardless of the temperature and what the mayor, parks and rec, Environment Canada, some dude in lab coat or whoever tells me; I’m sorry. A year and a half of sewage treatment DOES NOT reverse or even remedy 400+ years of harbour pollution. You wanna swim? You go right ahead. I won’t be joining you.
Dude … as a driver, I appreciate that yesterday was a clusterfuck … however I fail to see how it’s all Peter Kelly’s fault. Not saying I love the guy or anything, just that you seem to be assuming he has control over the handling of events that lead to your writing of this bitch that he simply doesn’t have. So, maybe …
1. Give Mother Nature a call and let her know that her snow causes issues and see if she’ll keep if off of the roads and sidewalks, and out of our driveways. And, if you happen to get her number and have success with that … let me know because I have a few issues I’d like to discuss myself.
2. Contact your Councillor and tell him/her your concerns about snow removal in HRM and maybe even ask if he/she was agreement with the change. This might help you … http://halifax.ca/districts/index.html … and then remember this when it comes time to vote again.
3. Petition to make it a requirement that all vehicles in the province have snow tires and make all drivers undergo hypnosis to ensure they will drive appropriately for the road conditions as soon as the first snowflake falls.
4. Call the school board to express your displeasure that they did not cancel school yesterday … but then don’t complain the next time they do and you have to leave work early because they did so and you don’t have a sitter for your child/ren.
I am being a bit of a smart ass, but I’m not trying to belittle what you had to deal with because I had to deal with it too. I’m simply making the point that it’s not all on the mayor and complaints should be directed appropriately … otherwise you’re just bitching at people that can’t affect change. Guess what happens when you do that … NOT A FRIGGIN’ THING.
my dear whole bunch of things, it was a bitch, yes, but it was expected. people should have a plan in action for just those type of days.
most people were prepared, some were not, those with an ounce of sense,had planned ahead. you know, right type of tires, car cleaned off, speed reduced, and common sense in effect. others, just got going and thought, fuck it, let the other guy, watch out.
thes are the types that fill the morgues.
I lived in Halifax in 2008 and I found the plowing was great. I couldn’t believe how fast they got the major routes cleaned up, but I also noticed how friggin’ often it snowed and had to move back to Vic. I remember driving back from the Noel Shore and had to follow the plow, but they were always out there. If we have 1 snow here we burn up our entire fund for the year. Unless the service has degraded badly, I say good job.
HRM, the Province, and the school board fucked up yesterday, no doubt about it. But the drivers did too by driving in weather they weren’t equipped or experienced to drive in. If snow scares you, stay the fuck off the roads.
The only brights spot about the shitty weather etc. was that it diverted the medias attention away from the occupiers.
OP claims that it was the mayor that spent $100,000 on police OT. Is that true? or is OP just talking out his arse?
I agree with persevere! Great post!
The ONLY thing I’d say that bugs me about the snow removal is that they haven’t bothered to clear the sidewalks at a lot of bus terminals. People with heavy-duty boots on were slipping when they were getting on the busses last night. It’s NOT COOL when you have to pole vault onto a bus at a major terminal.
Last year, the terminals were done asap AND the bus stops as well. This year? So far, nadda. How are the disabled supposed to get on the busses? When the bridge thingy folds out it wouldn’t be able to go all the way down to the sidewalk leaving at least a 2 foot gap between the edge and the sidewalk, which is shameful.
As I said in a previous post, I’ve heard that HRM’s snow removal contract doesn’t come into effect until December 1, which could explain a lot of the shitty conditions.
Yeah, well, one can only hope.
But really — it’s not SO unheard of to have snow in November… perhaps HRM should extend that to AT LEAST November 15th, perhaps?
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/arti…
I definitely agree with you.
not to mention the overspend on the bi-hi underpass…. and what really irks me is to see the salt trucks out when the temp is well above zero…. it’s wastefull of resourses all across the board….. Salt, Gas, Time.
They probably have the salt trucks out in above zero temperatures as a proactive measure so that the salt will be there and start working when it gets below zero.
is it bad that I would have rathered to see how the occupy camp would have held up in that shit-fest?
It’s bad when even SALT is working more than they are….