Thumbtack: Providence 11th most ‘snow-ready’ city

HEAVY SNOW and blizzard conditions seen in Providence on Jan. 27 during the storm known as Juno. Thumbtack said Providence is the 11th most
HEAVY SNOW and blizzard conditions seen in Providence on Jan. 27 during the storm known as Juno. Thumbtack said Providence is the 11th most "snow-ready" city. / PBN PHOTO/FRANK MULLIN

PROVIDENCE – Providence is the 11th most snow-ready city in America, according to Thumbtack, a website company.
Thumbtack said Providence was faster at cleaning up snow than several cities in Massachusetts, including Boston, which ranked 20th.
Last winter’s seemingly never-ending snowstorms dumped 76 inches of snow in Rhode Island, and paralyzed Boston, where 110 inches fell – Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service even had to be halted.
“Massive storms across the East Coast last year crippled many cities for days and drained the coffers of municipal governments who were unprepared for the snow drifts that piled up as wave after wave of relentless snowstorms pounded the area,” Thumbtack wrote on its website.
Thumbtack said Boston alone spent $35 million on snowfall removal – a record amount. It also said another snowy winter is expected.
To devise its “snow-ready” list, Thumbtack said it recorded every day there was snowfall in an area and compared it with the number of requests Thumbtack received on that day for snow removal services.
Historical snowfall data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was used, Thumbtack said.
Thumbtack said most of the requests it sees for snow plowing services come from residential consumers, but it also receives requests from commercial establishments and local governments trying to keep driveways, parking lots or sidewalks clear.
The most snow-ready city distinction went to Springfield, Mass., where it took only .67 inches of snow for people to request snow plowing services. In Providence, it took 2.04 inches for requests for snow plowing to be made. Boston waited for 3.6 inches before making calls, which could explain some of the problems that developed last winter.

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