Ga DOT dropped the ball on this storm again (Atlanta: chapel, home sales)

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

There were very few wealthy or even well-to-do states in the southeast. Georgia's numbers are actually skewed somewhat by the presence of Atlanta, but one city cannot carry an entire state that's been mired in poverty for generations. And quiet as it's kept, there is actually quite a bit of poverty in the Atlanta area itself. Yes, there's plenty of money here, but there's plenty of poverty as well. The notion of bankrupting an already impoverished state for snow removal in one city is almost criminally stupid.

I agree with you that there is quite a bit of poverty in the Atlanta area. And even in areas that appear to be wealthy.

Around 10-years ago, I was surprised seeing a somewhat poor, black area right in the middle of white, upper middle-class homes. The area is approximately four to five miles south of Northside Hospital.

Today, I don't know if the area still exists?

Going south on Peachtree-Dunwoody, south of Johnson Ferry Road, you'll see very expensive homes as the road becomes two lanes, winding, and leafy. Quite a few of the homes, in the subdivisions off of the street, are in the $400,000 to $1,500,000 price range.

Around 10-years ago, I turned left on Windsor Pkwy. In just a matter of a few minutes I was in a very small black, somewhat poor area. For around two or three blocks there was a noticeable change compared to the wealth around it.

I had no idea homes like these existed so close to Buckhead.

[PKCorey]

I believe, you are talking about Lynwood Park....

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

I believe, you are talking about Lynwood Park....

Thanks for the information. I didn't know the name of the area. I need to find my Atlanta map.

I think I wanted to look at a Wieland townhome complex in that area. I think it's very close to those homes.

[DTL3000]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

So a few pages back someone mentioned that getting a few more snow plows would cost like $5 million. Not sure for how many that would be, but it seemed like a really low number.

So the Weather Channel actually broke it down (video down below), and yeah, that's not an accurate number. They used Chicago as a base line, which has 230 snow plows and is about the same physical size of the city of Atlanta. The trucks alone would cost $58 million dollars. Of course, trucks don't drive themselves so you will need to hire drivers, and fill them with gas, and store them, and buy the salt that comes out the back of them. After adding it all up the price tag would be:

$100 million

So, who want's to raise their taxes first for something that we might have use for as soon as the winter of 2021. Maybe.

Anyway, with all of this debate about what type of job GDOT did it is important (again) to keep things in perspective. The good folks at the Weather Channel did just that when they asked who had the worst response to a major snow storm recently? New York City or Atlanta:

The storm cleanup blame game - iWitness Weather Photos and Video Video

We don't need anywhere near 230 snowplows. I was thinking maybe a dozen or two max statewide with about a dozen in the metro area. That's still in line with my figure(@$3-5mil). We don't need to spend anything remotely close to $100 million. Other DOT personnel can be trained on how to operate them. They probably won't be doing anything else in weather like this anyway. Who knows when we'll need them? Maybe not for a long time. However I think their cost would be tiny compared to how much money was lost by individuals, businesses, and the state/city this week. It's an embarassment. Saying we don't know how to handle it since it happens so rarely is a cop out. Anything would be better than what has transpired this week.

[OctoberMoon]

I heard on the news snow plows cost about $250,000 each. And we don't need nearly as many as a place like Chicago has because while we may be around the same size, they get WAY more snow than we do.

That said, $5 million would only get us about 20 new plows.

[tonygeorgia]

I blame Gov Deal no this mess

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by tonygeorgia

I blame Gov Deal no this mess

So do I. This is not a rant at southerners. This is a rant at THE STATE GOVERNMENT. The state government dropped the ball of this and messed up big time. Time and time again the government never prepares for things like this, and then what happens? It happens and we have accidents, trucks struggling to get here, schools closing, loss in revenue. Then again, the last governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, didn't look out for Atlanta. This was the same governor who said NO to MARTA. It doesn't surprise me that he didn't prepare either. Doesn't surprise me that Nathan Deal dropped the ball. He was one of the most corrupt congressmen in the USA. Somehow, he became the governor.
This is what happens when a state has a traditionalistic political culture, rife with good-old boy politicians, paternalism, and a custodial mentality in the government.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by roxyrn

Last month when I was stranded on Long Island which was buried under 20 inches of snow, a very upscale shopping center had this big truck that they put the snow into and it melted the snow quickly and had it streaming down the sewer. I have never seen anything like it and it cleared up the parking lots quite quickly. Although, the stores still remained closed.

That's really clever. I've never seen anything like that, either. Huh. No need to transport it or dump it.

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

So do I. This is not a rant at southerners. This is a rant at THE STATE GOVERNMENT. The state government dropped the ball of this and messed up big time. Time and time again the government never prepares for things like this, and then what happens? It happens and we have accidents, trucks struggling to get here, schools closing, loss in revenue. Then again, the last governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, didn't look out for Atlanta. This was the same governor who said NO to MARTA. It doesn't surprise me that he didn't prepare either. Doesn't surprise me that Nathan Deal dropped the ball. He was one of the most corrupt congressmen in the USA. Somehow, he became the governor.
This is what happens when a state has a traditionalistic political culture, rife with good-old boy politicians, paternalism, and a custodial mentality in the government.

Sounds like a rant to me.

Georgia is not equipped for snowstorms such as these, especially when it is followed by nearly a week of at freezing or below temperatures. What do you expect? The severity and longevity of this storm isn't exactly typical. While we do get snow, it usually isn't followed by freezing rain, nor is the daily high subfreezing for more than a day or two following the storm. As such, any type of doing what would be needed to be prepared would be a huge waste of state revenues.

By the way, the snow came down when Perdue was Governor. Deal was not sworn in til Monday afternoon, the day after the storm. Regardless of who is in office, the result would be the same. Georgia will never be prepared for this type of weather, and its reasonable and logical for it stay that way, especially considering the condition the state budget is in.

[brownhornet]

I just saw a snow plow/salt truck on Spring Rd in Smyrna. Ha.. wouldve been nice 4 days ago.