Crews work to clear 230 miles of snowy roads

By Rob Polansky, Matt McFarland

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    NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (WFSB) — Winter Storm Bobby arrived in New Haven overnight.

Channel 3 was told the city is fully staffed and it’s all hands-on deck for a storm this size.

City officials held news conference at noon on Friday at the city’s Department of Public Works salt barn.

Mayor Justin Elicker, emergency services director Rick Fontana, chief administrative officer Regina Rush-Kittle, public works director Jeff Pescosolido and others participated.

They said their public works crews typically handle the plowing out on the major routes, but that’s just the start.

Crews that typically pick up garbage and recycling, they’ll be out clearing snow as well, and then you add in smaller trucks from the parks department to handle the narrow streets, and private contractors.

“We’re going to be running 12-hour shifts, throughout the storm, [Saturday] during the push back mode and then through the operation going into Sunday and next week for the removal, so there are two different phases,” Pescosolido said.

Between New Haven’s public works crews, the parks department and private contractors, New Haven will have 50 trucks out plowing the elm city’s 800 streets and more than 230 miles of roads.

“We expect there to be some dangerous driving conditions and I think the important thing we’re going to say is please don’t drive unless you really have to,” Fontana said.

With a lot of snow and a lot of streets to clean, they asked for residents to be patient.

New Haven will instituted a city-wide parking ban at 10 p.m. on Friday.

That meant no parking at all downtown and the posted snow routes.

When it came to the residential neighborhoods, there was no parking on the odd side of the streets

“Its very important we get that information out to the public,” Elicker said. “The blue lights will be going on downtown to notify people, we’ll be sending out social media and a robo call but we’re asking for the press’ help to get that information out because. We really don’t want to tow people; we don’t want to ticket people. If we have to, we will, because we’ve got to get our streets cleaned.”

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