Staten Island driving conditions deteriorate as storm barrels across NYC
Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 7:59 AM Updated: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 9:08 AM
View full sizeAdan Munac uses an umbrella to ward off the weather as he and his son, Marcelo, age 12, wait for the train on the snow covered New Dorp train station with other commuters this morning. (Staten Island Advance /Irving Silverstein)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An icy mist continues to fall across Staten Island and leaden skies struggle to find daylight as commuters who decided to make the trek to work encounter the latest storm of this incredible winter.
The NYPD is reporting a spike in the number of car crashes - all apparently minor so far - on Staten Island. Some have involved vehicles striking parked cars, which tend to be further from the curb than usual because of the heavy snow pack. Several crashes are being attended to across Staten Island at this hour.
A pedestrian was reportedly struck by a car on Hylan Boulevard at Arden Avenue shortly before 7 a.m. There was no word on whether the person was injured.
The commuter routes are starting to feel the effects of what happens when traffic meets bad driving conditions.
Drivers tell the Advance that highway travel is being complicated by spray kicked up by other vehicles. It's a mix of rain, snow and road grime mixed with salt residue and flung on car windshields, where it promptly freezes to a chalky coating that is difficult to see through and not easily removed, except by repeated applications of the windshield washer.
View full sizeThe wave of bad weather passing over the greater New York City area in this 7:30 a.m. National Weather Service radar image is being followed by a much larger one, which should be across our area later today.
Some mass transit lines are reporting delays or irregular service. Highways and bridges are slowed by heavy traffic caught in the sluggishness bad weather typically imposes.
The Lincoln Tunnel has experienced repeated delays because of disabled vehicles.
Other tunnels are reporting no delays, but that doesn't speak for the traffic feeding into them.
Earlier the city suspended parking meter rules because of the weather, along with alternate-side parking requirements.
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day, a time when the winter-weary engage in the fanciful exercise of watching a marmot peek out of its burrow at sunrise. The lore holds that if the critter sees its shadow, winter will continue unabated for six more weeks.
The good news is there's little chance of sunlight scaring Staten Island Chuck on Wednesday morning. Forecasters say the storm should still be with us tomorrow, depositing a mixture of snow, sleet and rain until late in the afternoon.
2011-02-01
Staten Island driving conditions deteriorate as storm barrels across NYC | SILive.com
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