Last week we received our first official taste of winter and it looks as if winter may be here to stay; looking ahead at the forecast. Much of the snow we received during our first snow storm has melted and a fresh dusting of snow coats the ground today. Close to a foot of snow fell in some areas during the last event and the plows were not out in quick fashion as they should've been. And I can understand what the road commissions are dealing with as they are not receiving the proper funding from the state of Michigan. Let's be honest, Michigan is broke right now; we're one of the worst states in the U.S. as far as an economy and unemployment. Years of cutbacks have agencies that rely on state aid to look elsewhere or to cut back to bare bones. The road commissions receive state aid to do their job - roadway maintenance in their respective counties. As other costs continue to rise, such as fuel, health insurance, road building materials, etc; state aid remains the same and in most years, it continues to drop. The road commissions can't do their jobs effectively if the money is lacking. They've had to lay a lot of workers off over the years and they are continuing to cut back as the years go by. Honestly, when is it going to end?
I drove home from work after midnight shift the morning of the first snow storm, and it didn't even look like the plows had been out. It started snowing around 9 or 10 o'clock the evening prior and the roads were in terrible shape. M-35, a state thoroughfare, was a two-rut, rough, icy road. I was amongst a line of cars going 25 to 30 mph - any faster and each of us would've quickly driven into the ditch. These are the conditions that we have to face during a major winter storm. I've experienced situations like this the last couple of winters, in fact. And I know what some of you may be saying; just don't go to work when it's snowing. But the thing is, we get a lot of snow at least five months out of the year. If we all stopped driving when it snowed, there'd be a lot of missed days from work, school, and other events. Our worlds cannot stop just because of snow. In a lot of areas of the country, two to four inches of snow from one storm is a big deal. That's not the case here. Six to 12 inches of snow is a pretty big deal; but we often get a lot more during some of the worst storms. The plowing situation doesn't look like it's going to get any better in the future either. The local road commission has cut back on the amount of snow plow drivers and the effect is clearly evident on the roads. When will the situation ever improve?
I know there has been talk of increasing the state's gas tax - but all that does is increase the price of gas even higher than it already is (it's $3.29 a gallon around here right now). But what other options are there? Possibly regional road commissions in the form of consolidations, the state taking charge of plowing the state highways and the road commissions deferring to plowing local roads ... yes, there are a few possibilities out there. It's sad that it's even getting to this point however. Summer maintenance of roads is lacking as well and the infrastructure is falling apart. There is no money for maintenance/paving projects; at least not like there used to be. This is only one area where the state of Michigan in struggling. Just look at the Department of Natural Resources, the State Police, the Department of Corrections, and on and on. This blog could be many more paragraphs if I wanted. But for this particular blog, the point is on one subject; the plowing of roads in the wintertime. I guess one solution for those that live in Michigan (specifically the U.P.) is to buy SUV's to get through the higher snow totals on the roads.
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