City Planners Should Work On A Better Plan For Snow Removal

I'm aware that we only have two snowplows and apparently only a few people who know how to drive them. I don't have a problem with those people. I have a problem with the politicians in charge of them.

Let's say you work at The Burrito Hut. You guys are going to do 25-cent burritos. So what does management do? They go get more burrito supplies and more people to make burritos, right?

Well that's not how the City of Lubbock thinks. The City of Lubbock thinks, 'we only have two burritos, so we'll just try to make the best of it.'

Robert Breaux, 1340 The Fan

My questions are pretty simple. Why didn't we work a reciprocal deal with Amarillo or some other city to borrow some snowplows? Why didn't we train more drivers so our guys didn't have to work 18-hour shifts? And why are roads like Indiana, University and Quaker still impassible messes?

We had three days notice that the storm was coming, and now it's three days after the fact. The city did a pretty good job of keeping the lights on; it's snow removal we're talking about here. Three days may not seem like a lot, but there are tons of people who are expected to be at work and they still can't get there.

In my neighborhood, one of my neighbors actually got out and plowed our streets. I want you to think about that. My neighborhood is currently safer than University Avenue (at least South University). Think about that further. Someone is plowing city streets on their own accord because they know the city won't get it done.

Is that neighbor responsible if they damage the streets, or are they still a hero because they pitched in to help the community?

I want to say this again to all the city employees. I know how hard you've worked and it's very much appreciated. But you don't deserve to be beat down like this.

Planners, well, you need to work on the planning a bit. I'm aware that we don't have these kind of conditions often, but I'd expect a city the size of Lubbock to be a little more prepared than a grand total of two snowplows (and one "on order").

We either need to buy more, rent more or work out a true emergency plan which will allow us to have more when we need them.