A snowstorm hit Atlanta yesterday (January 28) and has caused a traffic nightmare thanks to icy roads and the city’s inability to clear them. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal shut down the government on Wednesday and urged residents to stay home.
Many are infuriated by the government’s response to the storm which has left people stranded. For example, there are images of people sleeping in a CVS since they were unable to get home.
Reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Speaking at a late-night press conference, Deal ordered state government shut down Wednesday and urged drivers to stay off the roads paralyzed by snow, portraying the weather as an “unexpected storm” that developed so quickly amid changing forecasts that officials struggled to respond.
And Reed promised transparency while also urging motorists to stay home and let emergency crews respond to stranded drivers. Road crews will treat icy highways and snow-covered streets throughout the night, he said.
Both politicians said they had learned valuable lessons from the 2011 ice storm that brought metro Atlanta to its knees, and that closer coordination and more resources have prevented the gridlock from becoming worse.
Despite what was learned in 2011, the gridlock in 2014 has many infuriated.
Thousands of commuters were stuck in traffic for hours with many reports of overturned cars, stranded drivers and students stuck at school. Allegedly, maintenance crews were unable to get through streets up to 12 hours after the storm started to rescue motorists, clear accidents or even lay down salt on the icy roads.
Reportedly only two to three inches of snow fell, but ATL clearly was not prepared. Needless to say, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is in the slander zone.
Check out photos of the snow struggle in the gallery.
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Photos: Instagram
