Not to be outdone by Middletown, Tolland, Vernon, and just about every other town in the state, Hartford is now adding itself to the list of places that are at least vocalizing their desire to not have hundreds of crushed children (or hundreds of lawsuits) to deal with, should a school roof collapse. All after-school and weekend activities in the Hartford Public Schools are canceled while crews remove snow and ice from the school roofs.
In case you’ve been on a media vacation, I’ll rehash. Roofs have been collapsing and people have been falling off of roofs while trying to prevent catastrophes.
There was a press release sent out to inform people that the fire department will not remove snow from people’s roofs. Apparently, some news outlet had released erroneous information previous stating that the Hartford Fire Department could do that.
The Green Crew (Knox Parks Foundation) can do snow removal from roofs, driveways, and sidewalks for a fee. For prices, contact “Big Nic” at 860.951.7694 or email nicw@knoxparks.org. For those who have a death wish and would like to clear their own roofs, check out a post on Beat Bike Blog about where to score safety equipment that might prevent you from plummeting several stories.
UPDATE: The Mayor’s office sent the following press release at approximately 5:45 this evening:
(February 4, 2011)— Hartford Mayor Pedro E. Segarra issued a comprehensive safety plan today regarding the more than 110 city-owned buildings including schools. The plan of action went into effect immediately with the cancellation of after-school and weekend school events.
“We are being proactive because Public Safety is paramount,” said Mayor Segarra.
More than 120 contracted workers will be out in force throughout the weekend to remove snow and ice from the roofs of city-owned buildings. The prioritized facilities are Bulkeley High School, Weaver High School, and Hartford Public High School because they are such large structures and many people can gather in areas such as auditoriums and gymnasiums.
“We are also hiring 15 seasonal workers. These Hartford residents will begin work on Monday to supplement our ground snow removal efforts,” said the Mayor.
The total cost of this plan of action is still being calculated but the Mayor says, “You can’t put a price tag on safety.”
In addition to the roof clearing, traffic officers will be patrolling approximately 20 intersections in the city to help manage the flow of vehicles in critical areas. This is to ensure pedestrian and vehicular safety.
With three storms in the forecast in the next seven days, property owners are once again reminded to safely remove the snow and ice from their property and not throw the snow and ice into the street.
In addition to roof clearing, street clearing procedures continue. On Monday, the “Snow Dragon” which melts snow and ice, will be used in priority areas as determined by Police, Fire, and Emergency Services personnel. This special machine is from Ontario, Canada and was used earlier this week in Waterbury. The evaporated water from all the snow and ice goes into the storm drainage system. Two premium snow blowers will also be put to use to clear emergency routes and high density areas.
The use of traffic officers is long overdue, as impatient motorists have been clogging intersections and turning right on red, regardless of the huge snowbanks impeding the view of pedestrians attempting to cross.