As the first big snow of this winter gives way to slush (and more snow), credit should be given where it’s due.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza both made early calls to close roads, restrict traffic and parking. And that decision has worked out well.
The result of having open streets and highways to plow late Monday, the 26th, through Tuesday, the 27th, was that road crews could do their jobs. Come Wednesday, traveling in the region was as normal as it could be, and that reality was not by chance.
More importantly, no one was killed as a result of a traffic accident. And there were no scenes like those from the December 2007 storm that stranded commuters and school buses for hours, keeping plows from clearing roads and in general freezing the city for days.
Additional praise should go to National Grid, which was ready with extra crews for the massive power outages that did not occur.
Yes, Rhode Island was lucky that we did not get as fierce a weather event as it could have been. But the real lesson here is that good planning makes a difference. •