Many Side Roads Still Impassable
(Posted to Fairfield.Patch.com 1/12)
By Mike Lauterborn
© 2011. All Rights Reserved.
1/12/11
Fairfield, CT – Homeowners grunted, groaned and moaned Wednesday afternoon as they dug out from a snowstorm that dropped an estimated 20 inches of snow in the area. Those able to dislodge their cars found most main roads clear but many side roads still impassable.
Patch made a tour through the Beach Area to survey road conditions and speak with shovelers. One resident (who declined to give his name) at the corner of Charles Street and Reef Road, said, “I started shoveling with my son at around 10. We’ve been going back and forth for a good four hours. This really sucks, but it is what it is when you live on the East coast. It comes with the territory.”
Further south on Reef, Griffin Reidy looked exasperated. “This is the biggest job I’ve ever done by far. I’ve got little more than a short sidewalk and some space behind the trucks and it’s literally taken me hours. The biggest part strategy-wise and physically has been trying to find places to heave all the snow.”
The Grossos – brothers John, Mike and Joe and nephew Joe – were busy plowing a drive on a family-owned property near a still unplowed Reef Court. “We’ve been around the area. It seems some streets are perfect, while some don’t seem to have been touched,” said John. “The last time it was this bad was 1978. It all came down in a period of 8 to 9 hours. Amazing.”
Walking north on Reef Road was Paris Mygatt, 22, Ashley Guy, 18, and Pamela Yates, 56. They had been touring the Beach Area and Penfield Beach. “The amount of snow was impressive there,” said Mygatt. “No one was there except for us. The side roads don’t seem to have been plowed. We’re on Alden and it definitely wasn’t plowed. Sandy Way was also bad – we saw only footprints.”
Bud’s Deli at 714 Reef was open for business but had seen little foot traffic. “I just got here at 1 p.m. but my boss said it was pretty slow this morning,” said counterperson “Sam” Perce, 20. “It’s starting to pick up now – people have come in for sandwiches.”
Steve Yap, at the corner of Sandy Way and Reef, had just finished shoveling and was salting his front walk. “Sandy Way was definitely not plowed. The snow’s up to my kneecaps. I literally can’t leave in any of my cars and I’ve got an SUV and a four-wheel drive.”
Housemates Colin Callahan, 21, Chris Hurd, 21, and Justin Nusblatt, 22, had just begun digging out the drive of their lower Reef Road rental. “We just got the motivation to get out here and shovel,” said Callahan. “It’s a lot of snow, up to your knees. It almost seems like an impossible feat to dig out, but we’re slowly getting there,” said Hurd. “This stuff needs to go away ASAP,” said Nusblatt.
Near the Seagrape, Celeste Stranaghan, 30, was unearthing her brand new Toyota Corolla, of which only the windshield wipers were showing. “It’s pretty buried. I’m going to be out here a while. I wanted to dig it out before the snow freezes.”
Shoveling the walk at That’s the Spirit Shoppe, 740 Fairfield Beach Road, owner Kevin Pinto, 38, said, “We opened at noon. We’ve had a few customers, though most people are still shoveling out. People have been saying, ‘I just got out of my driveway.’”
Letter Carrier Michael Richardson, making deliveries on Rowland Road, had his work cut out for him. “Most of the streets have been passable except for some side streets, like Lalley Blvd. I haven’t been able to deliver in some areas. A lot of people have been out shoveling so we can get to their houses. This has been a tough day. Just getting into work was a challenge with clearing my own driveway.”
Happy to have the day off, Smith Street residents Bella and Finula Milici, 9 and 10 respectively, were doing what kids do on snowdays. “We built this cool hill to sled down. It took us a while. We’ve having fun and may walk around the area later,” said Finula.
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