[RunD1987]

^^^^ This true...not much snow as of yet. Growing up in Waterbury thr old saying was "Waterbury never plows we just wait till it melts."

[AMSS]

Originally Posted by matools

Maybe I'm missing something here, but is there something that Waterbury does that makes our roads so awful in the winter time? Every time I drive through the suburbs, the roads there are in much better shape than in Waterbury. Like I said, I don't know if I'm just ignorant on the subject but it blows my mind how much worse the roads are in Waterbury when the nearby suburbs all (for the most part) experience the same kind of winter.

And don't even get me started on Waterbury "plowing" the roads. Maybe the main roads. My neighborhood's roads don't get plowed for hours after it snows.

Well...you have steep hills that are tough to get up in with no snow in sight and temperatures in the 80s. LOL. I'd think the amount of offstreet parking typical in older cities has a lot to do with it also...but just about every other major city in SW CT is fairly flat. Most of the suburbs around Waterbury have a good amount of state roads too which takes the onus off the towns and the state normally does a better job with better equipment. I live on a state road that is always pristine but the side roads the town is in charge of - not so much. And I usually don't realize how good I have it until I have to travel down a side road.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

"Public education remains the 900-pound gorilla among Waterbury's challenges. It consumes more than 50 percent of the city's budget but has never been made fully transparent to the taxpayers."

That statement is true in many ways. Waterbury taxes never seem fully transparent.

Why did they need to update the Mixmaster so much else needed to be funded by the state in Waterbury. Anyone not enjoy the mess on Reidville Drive area?

I am not sure what the "Mixmaster" and Reidville Drive have to do with Waterbury taxes. I-84 and Route 8 are state roads and the state pays for them. Has nothing to do with taxes or schools in Waterbury. I-84 had a severe capacity issue that needed to be addressed so the state is spending millions to widen it. Again nothing to do with the city except that the highway is located in it. As for the mess, well you need to create a mess to rebuild things. In a couple of years it will all be over and well worth the hassle. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by AMSS

Well...you have steep hills that are tough to get up in with no snow in sight and temperatures in the 80s. LOL. I'd think the amount of offstreet parking typical in older cities has a lot to do with it also...but just about every other major city in SW CT is fairly flat. Most of the suburbs around Waterbury have a good amount of state roads too which takes the onus off the towns and the state normally does a better job with better equipment. I live on a state road that is always pristine but the side roads the town is in charge of - not so much. And I usually don't realize how good I have it until I have to travel down a side road.

New Haven is mainly flat, and still does an atrocious job at clearing the streets. Same with Bridgeport. Also, the vast majority of roads in towns like Southbury and Bethany etc are not state roads. They are windy and lots of hills (especially in Southbury and Oxford), and they do a fine job at clearing them. Actually, more than a fine job. They do excellent.

Unfortunately, it shouldn't come as a surprise that our impoverished cities with strained budgets are awful when it comes to snow clearing.

[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I am not sure what the "Mixmaster" and Reidville Drive have to do with Waterbury taxes. I-84 and Route 8 are state roads and the state pays for them. Has nothing to do with taxes or schools in Waterbury. I-84 had a severe capacity issue that needed to be addressed so the state is spending millions to widen it. Again nothing to do with the city except that the highway is located in it. As for the mess, well you need to create a mess to rebuild things. In a couple of years it will all be over and well worth the hassle. Jay

The article mentioned statw money is pouring into the Mixmaster, which I feel traffic has never been an issue. The article suggest instead of money spent on the Mixmaster should of allocated so state funds to some Waterbury projects to aid in development.

The Mixmaster and Reidville all coincidence. It's a nightmare and a headache there.they changed th traffic pattern causing this huge back up and then instead of two lanes it's basically one big lane.

[AMSS]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

New Haven is mainly flat, and still does an atrocious job at clearing the streets. Same with Bridgeport. Also, the vast majority of roads in towns like Southbury and Bethany etc are not state roads. They are windy and lots of hills (especially in Southbury and Oxford), and they do a fine job at clearing them. Actually, more than a fine job. They do excellent.

Unfortunately, it shouldn't come as a surprise that our impoverished cities with strained budgets are awful when it comes to snow clearing.

No...just about every side road is off those roads though and having them taken care of by the state is HUGE. As someone who has traveled through all of it, those hills are nowhere near as steep or narrow as Waterbury's. Add off street parking and there's your conundrum. Then there's that tax base that can cover the cost of good snow removal.

I assumed Bridgeport did a decent job since they rarely call off school.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by AMSS

No...just about every side road is off those roads though and having them taken care of by the state is HUGE. As someone who has traveled through all of it, those hills are nowhere near as steep or narrow as Waterbury's. Add off street parking and there's your conundrum. Then there's that tax base that can cover the cost of good snow removal.

I assumed Bridgeport did a decent job since they rarely call off school.

Think about it. 67 through Southbury is what? 6 miles? Rt 172 is 4 miles. RT 188 is 5 miles. That's less than 20 miles of road throughout the entire town. I'm not saying it's no help - but it wouldn't be too difficult if the town had to start plowing them. They usually travel them anyway when snow clearing - just with their plow raised.

You're telling me Bullet Hill in Southbury and Good Hill in Oxford aren't as narrow as roads in Waterbury? At some points, they're too narrow for two vehicles to cross. You have to inch by.

And no, Bridgeport is awful at snow clearing. Horrendous. Stop giving free passes to our cities that can't seem to figure out how to properly budget their money.

[RunD1987]

Yeah CT cities really need to better budget money and state needs to help them out. State and cities goals should be beefing up police/social services, build/find placement for the homeless, and fix up infrastructure within not outside the city like on highways running through it. Them work on commercial development, lowering taxes, revamping school's, and cleaning up crime. Then encoutage residential development.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by AMSS

No...just about every side road is off those roads though and having them taken care of by the state is HUGE. As someone who has traveled through all of it, those hills are nowhere near as steep or narrow as Waterbury's. Add off street parking and there's your conundrum. Then there's that tax base that can cover the cost of good snow removal.

I assumed Bridgeport did a decent job since they rarely call off school.

When I was there with wife, sometimes the plows would take a full day before they would come. I figured it was because the rest of town would complain why should all the rich people in Black Rock get plowed first.

I can see it being issues in Waterbury with all those steep a$$ hills. SIL is in Naugatuck on such a street, it's like Black Diamond piste, I don't know how they do it.

[hvexpatinct]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

The article mentioned statw money is pouring into the Mixmaster, which I feel traffic has never been an issue. The article suggest instead of money spent on the Mixmaster should of allocated so state funds to some Waterbury projects to aid in development.

The Mixmaster and Reidville all coincidence. It's a nightmare and a headache there.they changed th traffic pattern causing this huge back up and then instead of two lanes it's basically one big lane.

I beg to differ about the mixmaster. I've been commuting 84 westbound to 8 north or 64 for 10 years. It's a nightmare. I can't count the number of times that I have had close calls on that section of road and I was actually hit on it once too. It is scary.