The scenes of a winter wonderland can serve as a reminder of nature’s beauty when we all have no place to go. However, a winter storm in the southeast this past Sunday created havoc for travelers, businesses and drivers at the start of the second week of 2011.
Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, the Carolinas and Georgia have all been hobbled by snow and ice. While each state’s capital city has suffered, the city of Atlanta’s reaction to the storm is the most disappointing.
Considering that Atlanta prides itself as an “international city with the world’s busiest airport in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport,” there’s no reason for it to be unprepared to handle six inches of snow.
The world’s busiest airport didn’t have the proper equipment to clear the airport’s runway so thousands of travelers were stranded at Hartsfield-Jackson after 2,279 flights were cancelled on Monday, Jan 10. The roads and highways were treacherous as drivers who attempted to navigate on the icy roads crashed their vehicles and some were forced to abandon their cars on the side of the road.
Major highways have been shut down due to trucks that have jackknifed and forced all lanes to be closed. Hundreds of drivers are currently stranded on those highways and could experience more trouble if they happen to run out of gas. But while bad driving played a major role in the traffic problems that have transpired over the last 24 hours, the city of Atlanta must take the majority of the blame.
A city of Atlanta’s magnitude should be equipped with more than six snow plows to spread salt and gravel on the roads. Although snow storms don’t occur every year in Atlanta, the city has witnessed the catastrophic repercussions of being ill-prepared for snow.
In 2000, the world witnessed Atlanta’s response to snow and ice when the city hosted the Super Bowl that year. Because the city’s roads were icy and there were only a few trucks to pave the roads and highways, thousands of guests were stuck in their hotel rooms and local businesses lost millions of dollars. The NFL has yet to bring the Super Bowl back to Atlanta.
Mayor Kasim Reed and other Atlanta officials must do whatever it takes to prepare their city when a winter storm occurs in the future. Because six inches of snow should not shut down a prominent American city as if it were a third-world country. –amir shaw
