Snow storm left beauty with hazards

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville City Manager Kip Padgett said Tuesday that the snow storm that hit Gainesville Monday left beauty behind but it came with hazards.

He said public works crews battling the snow and ice on 12 hour shifts still cannot remove that bottom layer of ice from the streets, and the pavement remains slick and hazardous.Crews started scraping the streets and laying down sand and salt mixture when the snow began to fall Sunday night.

"We're trying to make headway with the main thorough fares but because it's taking so much time to get those clear the secondary roads are really not getting any attention, so everybody just needs to be careful," Padgett said.

Padgett added the ice is so thick and concentrated the scrapers cannot break it up and it remains frozen with low temperatures expected the rest of the week. Monday's six to eight inch snowfall froze overnight creating the slick driving conditions.

Gainesville Fire Chief Jon Canada said he saw some motorists who were not driving carefully enough for the road and street conditions. He said while out checking areas where the ice may be a problem for emergency responders he has witnessed several motorists driving as if there was no ice on the streets.

"People are not slowing down," Canada said. "Do not pass people; be smart about being out here."

The Chief said streets remain ice coated and dangerous; if you don't have to drive, stay home. If you do have to drive, don't get in a hurry and pass another motorist who is driving according to road conditions.

"Most roads have one clear lane on each side and what happens is you may have someone that's running 10 or 15 mph," Canada said. "That's more than fast enough to move in this type of weather and then you have someone who does not have the patience and think they need to get somewhere quicker and they're passing that vehicle and endangering their lives and the lives of the person they're passing."

Chief Canada said the streets are no safer than they were Monday.

"Every street is going to be trouble, even the main highways are still very icy, they are not slushy roads, they are icy roads," Canada said. "The side streets are a complete sheet of ice and some main roads have ice with some powdery snow and crystal ice on them."