Drivers along Broadway found the stretch of route 97 difficult to navigate. (Photograph by Marc Lemay.)
Mayor Says He Agrees with Complaints; Blames Equipment Problems
Haverhill’s 3-1-1 call center was jammed Wednesday with 325 complaints about the city’s snowplowing efforts.
Major thoroughfares, such as Broadway, Main Street and Newton Road, were caked with snow, creating ongoing pothole-like traveling. The problem became very apparent to those entering or leaving the city where adjacent communities cleared to the pavement. Mayor James J. Fiorentini blamed equipment failures and residents who chose to park on the street.
“No one was happy with the conditions of the road today—not me, not (Public Works Director) Mike Stankovich or anyone,” the mayor told WHAV. “I drove for two hours around the city. I was not happy about the conditions,” he added.
Fiorentini said two graders broke down during the snow clearing operation following Tuesday’s major storm. While one was repaired quickly, the other remained sidelined. A replacement was out on city streets by 3, Wednesday afternoon.
Adding to problems, Fiorentini said, were resident who parked on both sides of the road, despite the city’s odd-side parking requirement.
However, “I’m not blaming anyone other than myself,” the mayor said. He told WHAV he plans to convene a meeting Thursday with Stankovich and Police Chief Alan R. DeNaro.
The supervisor and the mayor should be replaced. Both are not doing their job which was obvious with the road conditions from a 12 inch snow storm. INCOMPETENCY
Cheryl…you are absolutely right !!
Last week we learned the mayor conducted a major coverup of the city water supply being contaminated. Now under his management, city streets went unplowed during the biggest snow storm of the year. This is an election year for the mayor. Remind everyone you know of his incompetence come November!!
During snow emergencies all cars should be mandated to be off the street. The city needs to come up with places people can park during snow emergencies. There are way too many cars still buried on the street, that issue also needs to be addressed.
As long as they are parked on the correct side of the street there isn’t much that can be done.
Another reason to go back to switching parking nightly instead of monthly.
I’d like to know how the city is going to maintain bicycle lanes when they can’t maintain roadways.
Let’s figure that out first Councilor Mack.
ANOTHER example of the lack of basic management skills by this incompetent mayor.
Overall, this was a mild winter for snowfall amounts. How is it that two plows break down? Just like not having a basic maintenance plan in place that resulted in the complete decay and ultimate destruction of Hunking School, the mayor can’t even delegate the DPW to have its equipment ready for such a storm.
He blames himself? Is that suppose to impress people?
It’s not just mismanagement by the mayor…it’s the setting of his priorities according to his liberal agenda.
If the mayor wasn’t so busy trying to get taxpaying citizens to take campaign signs off their lawn during the presidential election and rolling out the welcome mat for criminal trespassers from other countries in this city illegally, maybe these basic management tasks would have gotten done.
I think its about time to start towing vehicles illegally parked. I know many that attempted to park in the down town parking garage but it was filled. Whats the situation with the parking deck ? Are we allowed to park there overnight during storms like this. Overall downtown parking is a mess year round.
The cleanest street that I observed were North Broadway and Ginty Boulevard both streets were clean as a whistle
At least the Mayor took the blame but it doesn’t fix the problem with another storm on the way how about calling the trucks out a bit earlier in the storm and not use pick up trucks to clear main roads. Hire some big equipment for a change.