Western New York Official Blasts Back At Snow Critics

The snow is still falling in some parts of the Western New York area. As of Wednesday, there was as much as two feet of snow in some spots and a few more inches of snow is on the way. Up next is a warm up and some rain.

The snow fell harder in some areas in than expected on Monday night as the lake effect band set up over the Southtowns. Traffic was at a standstill on some roads and there were multiple accidents, some with injuries.

Just about every time we get a large and fast snowfall in Western New York, there are some who criticize the efforts of the towns, villages and counties when it comes to getting the roads passable and safe. This past storm was no exception as social media was buzzing with those who were upset.

Some towns had a struggle to keep up with the snow this week and it came at a challenging time as many were leaving work or school when the snow started to fall. More cars on the roads make cleaning up the roads tricky.

However, one of the benefits of social media is that those who take the heat online can respond and give some sort of explanation as to why or why not the roads were not up to the standards of those who drive on them.

The Town of Aurora got as much as 16 inches of heavy snow on Monday and head of the DPW has responded to the critics. The initial post stated that,

Time to elect a new Highway department superintendent!!

David Gunner, the Superintendent of Highways for the Town of Aurora responded with a lengthy statement to a Facebook post by writing, in part that:

Like a lot of you our plows were stuck in gridlock in traffic. 2 plow trucks were off the road and needed to be towed.

Gunner goes on to write that,

The town fleet of plows is 2013 or newer and are in very nice condition.

Gunner also made himself available to those who would like to interact via phone,

Either way if anyone would like to call the highway department at 716-652-4050 we can give you facts not fantasy to answer your questions.

According to their website, the Town of Aurora handles a large portion of roads when it snows.

In the winter the Highway Department plows and salts all town roads and approximately 70 miles of Erie County roads per contract with the county.

The snow is expected to make a return for the drive in on Wednesday.