Attempting to avoid another slippery situation on the city’s roads had crews out by noon yesterday applying a type of salt they haven’t used in three years, according to transportation officials.
Transportation department spokesperson Sean Somers said Friday was “ill-timing” and believed crews were in a better position to avoid the chaos that greeted commuters on their drive home this time around.
“The roads and drives home should be in much smoother condition. Nobody knew the storm would hit that fast and furious Friday. Today we are prepared.”
While crews would later apply a 50-50 mixture of salt and sand, Somers said crews were first applying a moist salt that should stick to the ground.
“We haven’t used it for three years, but we’re hoping it sticks to the ground. We’re constantly making adjustments and changing what we do.”
Somers said crews were concentrating on known trouble spots — especially those that hindered motorists for up to five hours on some roads — to avoid a similar situation.
Crystal Mathers, 29, said she was stuck on the city’s roads on Friday for five hours, and was worried it would happen again with last night’s snowfall of up to 4 cm.
“I was stuck in traffic and on the roads for so long I ran out of gas. I had to walk and get gas and it was just terrible. I don’t want to go through that again,” she said.
