A Tale of Two Cities

Sunday, January 25

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

No, really.  It was both.

We woke up Sunday morning after a snow storm that lasted over 24 hours and looked at at the start of a sunny day.  And over two feet of snow. 

Now, Ken had spent hours outside on Saturday trying to keep up with the snow.  While it didn’t look like he made a dent, when compared to neighbors who did nothing, we were happy we only had half a mountain of snow to deal with.

We had walked through the neighborhood during the storm on Saturday to go to a birthday party.  I am not going to miss cake and ice cream!  And the roads in our area on Saturday were a mess.  It was a blizzard, after all.

But Sunday morning, the side streets had at least been plowed.  Not perfect by any means, but plowed.

It’s 8 a.m. and we have a choice.  Go out and start shoveling, or call the West Main Diner and see if they are open.

Easy choice.

I made the call, and yes.  They are open for business!

We of course decide to walk to the diner.  In the street.  Because the streets were, although not perfect, much better than the sidewalks.  The sidewalks were, for the most part, not shoveled at all.  And remember, it's the homeowners who are responsible for the sidewalks.

Great breakfast, great coffee, great service.  Even on the morning after a blizzard.

Main street was, for the most part, clear down to the asphalt.

Fortified, we walk home and start tackling the snow clean up.  Stopping on the way to talk to neighbors.  

Now, I know that big snow storms start big discussions.  With big opinions.  I’m going to say that the borough did a good job.  Not perfect, but you can’t expect perfection.  It was over two feet of snow!

Our biggest issue with the sidewalks?  Where to put all that snow.  Think about it – the borough has that problem ten times over with the streets!

I heard complains that the streets weren’t plowed close enough to the curb.

I heard complaints that some streets weren’t done at all.

And I’m sure some complaints were warranted.  But before you complain, ask a few questions.  Did you have a boneheaded neighbor who did not move his car off of the snow emergency side of the street?  That can be enough to stop a plow from coming on your block.  Place blame where it is needed!

And curb to curb service?  I’m sure the borough will be out today to plow more.  I didn’t expect perfection.  And all those cars that look like giant snow beetles with their windshield wiper antennas?  I bet half of that snow gets thrown into the street when the cars get cleaned off.  And then those car owners will blame the borough again for the icy patches in the street.

I also didn’t expect to see so many neighbors put lawn chairs along side of my house.  Yes, that is a coveted, legal parking street.  But once you leave, IT IS NO LONGER YOUR SPACE!  There are so many chairs out there, it looks like people are waiting for some odd winter parade to come rolling by.

When I left, I put no chair out.  Want a nice parking space?  Go to my house.

Because I won’t be back for a few days.  Here comes the tale of the second city.

I had to drive to Harrisburg for a set of meetings starting early Monday morning.  The roads were fine.  Except for the upside-down car on the Northeast Extension (in the other direction).  The highways were mostly clear, but tight.  And very lightly traveled.

It was a nice trip.  Seeing the beauty of the snow as I traveled westward from southeast Pennsylvania to the rolling hills of south-central PA.  As the sun started setting, it turned picture postcard perfect.

Then I got to Harrisburg.

Yes, I knew the mayor had banned all traffic through Sunday morning.  So the streets could be cleared.

But they were not.  It was still messy.  I put the truck in four wheel mode.  I was wishing Harrisburg could have got it together like Lansdale did.

I saw one other car.  When I got to the hotel garage, I snagged a perfect spot on the first level.  The garage was mostly empty.  Odd.

Odd, until I got in the hotel, and found out that the mayor had extended the travel ban until 5 a.m. Monday!  With $250 fines for people caught driving!  Whew – dodged a bullet there!

So my take away is this.  Snow happens.  Usually not this much.  But when it does, Lansdale knows how to respond.  Both the borough and its citizens.  Not perfection – but that is an unrealistic goal.

It could have been much worse.  It could have been Harrisburg.

ONE opportunity to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

Let’s see what today brings!