Washington D.C. — From windy days to ice-covered streets, the weather conditions in the city are still impacting daily operations for many residents and complicating their commutes.
“It just makes it really hard to get to work,” Café Unido worker Alexander Alarcon said. “It adds 20 minutes to 30 minutes to my commute every day. It really sucks.”
Alarcon said the store was closed on Sunday following last weekend’s continuous snowfall with at least 7.5 inches in some areas.
“I come from Silver Spring every day, and up there, it’s pretty bad, but it’s worse here,” Alarcon said.
The District declared a state of emergency on Friday, Jan. 23, due to the snow and extreme temperatures. The city’s government returned to regular programming, opening for the first time of the week at 10 a.m. Thursday. The District of Columbia Public Schools held remote classes, but are now having delayed openings. Some schools in other parts of the DMV continued to teach remotely.
Schools were not the only entities that were delayed by the weather, as stores and businesses also postponed opening as updates on conditions continued.
Amanda Summers, hospital manager at Livewell Animal Hospital in the Shaw area, shared that her store also had a delayed opening of three hours following the weekend’s snowfall.
“To give us some time to get here,” Summers shared. “And [to] possibly let the crews try to work on the roads if they can,” she said, explaining how she was back at work the day after the storm concluded.
The process of snow removal and clearing in the city is met with mixed reviews from residents as the district continues to share updates with residents via official government websites and social media channels.
College student and Amazon worker Jazmine Hawkins reflected on some of the challenges from this week. “I fell,” she shared.
Hawkins said it’s hard to come to work, because of the snow everywhere. “I can’t drive nowhere,” she said, explaining the difficulties the conditions bring.
The D.C. Department of Public Works Interim Director Anthony Crispino responded to public concern about the icy conditions in a press conference hosted by Mayor Muriel Bowser on Jan. 28.
Crispino noted that the agency is working with 311 to focus on the areas in most need of post storm care. These are areas where individuals are requesting government assistance and services.
Snow and ice removal requests across D.C. are the 311 City Service’s most requested services since the beginning of the year.
“You’d expect a lot of the streets here to be cleared out, but they’re just not,” Alarcon said. “There’s layers of ice on the roads and on the sidewalks.”
Piles of snow and ice block sidewalks, bus stops and curbs across the city further complicating commuter’s transportation routines to work.
Alarcon shared what it’s like getting around the city at this time.
“I have to walk to and from the Metro,” he said. “It’s just really hard to walk to the Metro, and you have to trek through all the ice and climb little mountains of ice.”
As operations in the District resume and the possibility for more snowfall approaches, the government continues to utilize spaces like RFK Stadium and the former United Medical Center grounds to clear out snow.
Morghan Langston is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
