YOUR COMMENTS

Yes, it does snow, but it's no excuse for some of the failures SOME of the plow guys have made. I know a few, and if it's a holiday, they have the mentality "Well, no one has to work, so I'll take my time getting out there." Being in corporate security, I work every holiday. Time and time again, long, long after it has stopped snowing, there are still so many roads that aren't even touched. In fact, there was a road near my apartment that had not been plowed for almost a week. It took ANOTHER storm to get them to come out and plow. So yes, it snows, yes we live in NE, and yes we need to respect the plow guys. But only if they earn it. They've caught my ire so far this year, seeing as how I can't manage to go more than 10 feet before hitting a long stretch of road with enough snow to bury my tires in it.
- Mike, Merrimack

If you think anything here is bad with regards to the snow removal, please move to my hometown in WV and watch what happens with one inch of snow. Everything is shutdown for a week and you are told to not be on the roads. I am amazed when we have ten inches of snow one day and the roads and highways are usable almost immediately.

And for the few who think that NH is so bad, I guess you must have missed the mess in Mass a few weeks ago when it took 5 hours for people to go from Suagus/Lynnfield over to Newton on I95 only to abandon their vehicles on the highway. Then Mayor Menino and Gov Patrick argued over who was to blame. Sheep please move back since you think it is so nice there. I could not even get out of my office park in Westford that day because everyone was stuck blocking the roads, but amazingly once I finally got back to NH it was clear. Yep, it is much worse here. Other than the mess in MA I have not had any issues getting around in NH this month.

Fools maybe you should invest in a vehicle that can handle the weather if you are so worried about your safety instead of trying to force people to stop having 4 wheel drive and instead of raising everyone’s taxes for an army of snow plowers hanging out on stand by 24/7.

Wonder if you can get the clowns on Beacon Hill to make snowfall illegal and ban Mother Nature from coming to MA for you?
- Abe, Nashua, NH

Perhaps we should ask our legislators to stop stealing 60 percent of our highway maintenance dollars to fund other agencies. Maybe we could forget another 10 percent budget cut, the hiring freeze, and start repairing outdated/broken equipment. I'm sure all the plow drivers have had enough of those wanting to go 80 miles an hour in a blizzard. Motorists who don't watch the weather forecast, refuse to slow down, and can't plan ahead have no business being on NH roads.
- Peg, Concord

quit your whining people...we live in New England??? I dont know where you all grew up, but as I recall, here in New Hampshire, snow in the winter and difficult driving is a way of life.. if ya don't like it.. move south :o)
- Steph, Concord, NH

I agree with Phil completely. I live in a quiet neighborhood in Manchester off Candia Road. The plows won't even have touched my street by the time I get home tonight. I also commute to the seacoast, and 101 this morning (around 9am- plenty of time for the plows) was awful. Everyone was driving single file because the right lane was covered in snow and ice and not a plow in sight. I am usually glad to reach the highway since they always seem to have it plowed, but they dropped the ball on this storm.
- Michelle, Manchester

Folks like it or not if it was not for Mass we would not have an economy in NH. I was born and brought up right here in merry ole NH. I have worked in NH for the last several years and while my commute is very short now I did spend several years commuting to Mass. 12 years of bringing my Mass paycheck right back to NH and spending it on goods services and PROPERTY TAXES!!
Snowmobile, boat, car registrations, vacations. The State of NH projects well over 120K NH resident workers do the same Mass commute to work not mention the amount of property taxes on vacation homes that actually come from MA, NY, CT, and other states. In almost all cases the vacation homes don't use the expensive services like our schools, but yet they are putting plenty of $$$ into the pot. I don’t like whining either but I am going to be realistic and happy that the Mass transplants are bringing their $$$ back here, I think they kind of have the right to complain a bit. I would be willing to bet that their pay checks contribute to a lot more of the NH economy, taxes and a lot of other things than our average NH paycheck.... :) As a matter of fact even though my current paycheck
Comes from a NH company most of the customers that we make money from are Mass
Located customers. Obviously I love NH or I would have moved a long time ago. I don’t
Like a lot of what Mass stands for and their Billion dollar deficit for a second year in a row that I am sure Mitt Romney would like to hide. The reality is we need them and they need us, like em or not we would be in a world of hurt if we sent them all back.
- Bert, Bedford

Wow, imagine that, snow in NH.
If you cant deal with a little delay, move south.
- Greg, Thornton

This is a school vacation day and most people are off. I think it was probably a logical descision to clear some areas and not others...also consider that there is another storm on the way...may not make sense to make a huge fuss when there will be another storm in less than 24 hours.
- V, Manchester

Will some ALGORE disciples come and shovel all this global warming out of my driveway? I'll give you some free carbon credits!
- Josh DuPont, Manchester

Commuters' laments aside, this has been a gorgeous winter so far. Currier & Ives made a fortune selling prints of what we all get to see every day for free. Sit back and enjoy it, even if you're stuck in traffic.
- DWB, Mont Vernon

I didnt know MA and NH got the same weather every storm. News to me
- Mike Lucier, Manchester, NH

To all the drivers whining about their commute to MA, either move to MA or take a bus. If all the MA commuters took the bus, it be easier for the plows to do their job with less cars on the road. If you don' t want to take a bus, leave earlier or take a sick/vacation day and enjoy mother nature.
- Dan, Manchester

Global warming?
- Russ Blanchette, Litchfield, NH

I chuckle at how people whine about the plowing and conditions after a snow storm. Many people moved to New Hampshire for the quality of life and the slower pace. Now I am reading that people want more services like Taxachusetts but still want the low cost. Deirdre and Ken need to realize more services and better services cost money. I moved to Weare realizing there was no trash service, dirt roads and plowing would depend on the budget and my property taxes. It was a rural community where I could enjoy the state. I am now living in southern California where today the temperature will be 70 degrees. Our roads are clear of snow but what takes 45 minutes in New Hampshire to travel will take two hours in LA. Maybe Ken and Deirdre need to move here for the warm weather and appreciate what they have in New Hampshire (much less traffic). Enjoy the snow and let the guys and gals plow the snow. Stay off the roads, light a fire and relax. Happy New Year!
- Bob, Simi Valley, Ca

Hey, Mass transplants...move back to MA! Please! If you have to leave at 5:30 to get to work, you're living too far from work anyway. We don't want you or your whining for taxpayer-funded services here in NH.
- Adam F., Merrimack

I left Bedford at 6AM and by the time I cleaned off the car, I had a pile of snow ON MY HEAD - which means it was snowing hard enough to pile up snow on the road minutes after a plow went through, so I'm not surprised that I-93 was snowy on my trip to Salem. Ken, they can't put a thousand plows on I93 because it'd cost a fortune (thus causing you to complain about taxes) and having too many plows on the road would actually cause a bigger backup than the road conditions. Having said all that, I got to work in Salem, NH early. The roads weren't bad - it was obvious that they'd plowed at some point - if you just left early and took your time you'd be fine. Or, you can move to Mass and shorten your commute and pay tons of taxes in the process. Your call.
- Mike, Bedford, NH

Manchester plowing is a joke. They declare a parking emergency, but when I wake up, many streets show no sign of plowing, and the parking spots are again hidden.

The city doesn't want to bother to spend the money on overtime, so the plow drivers get to have a rest.
- Matt Sullivan, Manchester, NH

A supplemental to my last paragraph.
If the City of Manchester is going to declare a snow emergency leave it in place until the snow removal process is completed, business day or not.
- Phil, Raymond

I also commute into Massachusetts every day and for every storm NH does not plow. I got on 93 south in Hooksett at 6 this morning and it had not been plowed at all. On my entire trip down 93 into Mass I saw one plow in NH and people say they do a good job? Every storm the road conditions are terrible in NH while in Mass for the most part the roads are fine.
- Ken, Bow, NH

The snow removal in Manchester is terrible. I live in a rural town and when I got up at 4:30 to clean my driveway my short dead end street had been plowed. I drove into Manchester on RT101 and that was nicely plowed. But low and behold come into The Great Queen City at 6:30 and the main roads have barely been plowed let alone any of the side streets that had not even been touched. I left Manchester at 3:00 yesterday afternoon and they had already declared a snow emergency. Now here it is after 7:00 in the morning when the parking ban has been lifted and parking is again allowed on the roads. How are the plow drivers supposed to clear the snow? The idiot policy makers in this the largest city in the state need to re-look at the snow emergency policy. The snow banks are now taking up about half the streets and thy still allow parking on both side of the streets so that a single car can barely pass through let alone a plow truck, fire truck or an ambulance. The city should not allow parking on the city streets at night at all from November 15 to April 15 and should limit it to one side of the street only during the day. This will allow for snow removal on snowy traditional winters like this one.
- Phil, Raymond

The snowplow budget is probably already shot for the year.
- Greg, Manchester

The thing to remember is that if you know a storm is coming, prepare ahead of time for these issues. I know they dont do a very good job in every area, because they can only do so much. They are doing the best they can to plow given the circumstances arent that favorable. I drove through areas today that didnt even get driven on OR plowed, but I left 45 minutes early knowing ahead of time, the storm is coming. It wont do any good to complain, so prepare your day ahead of time by shoveling out behind your vehicle before you go to bed the night before, lift your windshield wipers up so it wont get stuck to your windshield in case of ice, leave home early in anticipation that road conditions are unfavorable, and drive sensibly and carefully. I left at 6:45am, and still made it to work by 7:15am. A trip that normally takes 10 minutes took me 30 minutes, but I made it safe, and didnt hit anyone, nor did anyone hit me... there are better ways at managing storms than to always blame the plowers. They are only so many people, and when having to plow large major cities, it takes time for them and hopefully they will be safe doing their jobs as well.
- Melanie, Manchester, NH

Come now gentlemen, all this bashing of the snow plow guys is immature and disrespectful at best. I'd like to see you drive a snow plow for a living and see how you like it. Or better yet, mount a blade on the front of your Hummer or Lexus and help them out on the way to your cosy office in Mass!

I say show a little respect where respect is due.

God bless the snow plow guys!
- Charlie Cantrell, Barnstead

Oh Deirdre, if it's the crippling tax burden you miss, I'm sure Mass would welcome you back. NH doesn't need any more whiners. Believe it or not, it *snows* here!
- Tim Burton, Derry

What a total mess trying to get into work this morning. I only live 7 miles from the office and it took me 1/2 hour to get into work. The streets are terrible. Don't tell us that there isn't any money in the budget for safe plowed streets. Another storm on the way. The City hadn't even plowed my street this morning. Some people do not have the luxury of staying home.
- Pat G, Manchester

I totally agree. Hit the highway at 05:30 and lately it is never plowed. Bankers hours for the road crews?
- Steve Waldron, Hooksett

Deirdre, the plow guys are busting their butts this year and doing a damn good job at it. Give them a break. In fact, give us all a break and move back to Mass!!!
- John, Manchester

Deirdre, I am not sure which highways you drove on, but on Rte 3 south I was pleasantly surprised the roads were just wet. I left a bit later and that was a good call. I too drive to MA and usually the roads in NH are horrible.
- Leigh, Bedford

Well Deidre, guess you better pack up and move back across the Border.
Don't worry we won't miss you!
- Dave, Derry, NH

Commuting to Massachusetts daily from New Hampshire becomes such a chore. Why is it that NH cannot seem to get out and plow the roads before the morning commute?? The roads this morning were a disgrace they weren't clear until I hit the Massachusetts border. I used to think living in MA was bad but now I'm disgusted that NH can't get their plows out, so if there isn't school to heck with the rest of us who have to get out there and go to work. They knew when the storm was starting, why can't you get out there so the rest of us can be safe.
- Deirdre Perry, Manchester, NH