Well, the huge snowstorm that hit the North East is old news. Every year, a 'massive blizzard' dumps feet of snow on the North East and every major news group covers the storm from a week before it comes to weeks after the storm. They show pictures of buried cars and video clips of teenagers snowboarding down their streets.
Removal of the snow is an entirely different issue. Once the novelty of the annual snow-party-hoorah wears off, people are faced with the prospect of clearing the snow off the street. As New York City struggled with the task of clearing the snow, Quincy, Mass. had successfully discovered a way to clear snow more quickly and cheaply.
Instead of paying contractors by the hour to clear snow, they pay by the inch. This leads to a 5 to 10% savings and, miraculously, the work was finished more quickly! I suppose there is less incentive to dilly-dally at work if you are not getting paid by time spent! Maybe NYC should take a page out of the book of Quincy.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/opinion/22tue4.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Enjoy the warm(ish) weather!!
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