March 28, 2024

Not Over Yet! But City of East Providence Weathering Storm Okay - No School Wednesday

Still Snowing But Looking Okay Say City Officials!

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The blizzard of 2015, while not quite as bad as predicted, is still lashing East Providence and the region. Most damage seems to be in Cape Cod and the Scituate, Massachusetts area. Although East Providence is still experiencing some moderate to heavy snow near noon time on Tuesday. Wind and snow drifts are causing city plow operators to continuously keep clearing streets. But overall, East Providence has been escaping major damage at this time.

Mayor Tom Rose monitored city streets Monday night during the storm and on Tuesday. "As I made my way around the city our plows and other staff worked hard staying ahead of the storm and have pretty much kept it to pavement on major roads," said Rose. "Basically the city has been through the streets three different times and will keep at it. Things look pretty good. There have only been 67 vehicle accident statewide and none in East Providence," said Rose. The Mayor said about 25 to 30 cars have been towed from city streets due to the ban. "That's not bad for a storm this big. It is a key to keep motorists off the road and our residents have been very good about doing that," Rose said. The Mayor hopes things may return to some normalcy on city streets around 6:30 P.M. or so Tuesday evening.

City fire, police and school officials all report no major problems at this time. "Things may change, but we're looking pretty good right now," was the general consensus of city leaders. Fire Chief Oscar Elmasian told the Reporter today that his force was ready for any problems. "We were very prepared for this storm. We put additional personnel on last night (Monday) starting at 6:00 PM," said the Fire Chief. "This included placing a 4th rescue in service. We will be scaling back for tonight's shift, but we will keep the extra rescue in service along with personnel to staff three pick up plows," added Elmasian.

City councilwoman at-large, Tracy Capobianco told the Reporter that she also has received good reports concerning city efforts to prepare for and deal with the storm. "I've had no complaints. I think that the City was well prepared for this storm, I thank workers for their efforts and thank the residents for complying with the parking ban and travel ban, it makes it much easier for the crews to get the job done. I hope everyone is enjoying the day off!," said Capobianco. And, indeed, there will be another day off for city school children as school has also been cancelled for tomorrow, Wednesday, January 28th. Capobianco also wanted to inform readers that the city is sponsoring a photo contest on Facebook and Twitter. "Post your blizzard photo's here and use the hashtag ‪#‎EPblizzard2015‬. The winner will be announced this evening at 8pm. The winner will receive a $50 Gift Card to Benny's!" says a post on the city's web site.

City officials also want to remind residents of emergency resources available. "For power outages, please call National Grid at 1-800-465-1212, please do not call 911. If shelter issues emerge please contact the East Providence Senior Center 435-7800; plowing questions/concerns please call the main number of the East Providence Public Works Department, 435-7701. Check the Recreation Center's FB page or call 433-6360 for updates. Also the City of East Providence Facebook page will be updated regularly with information on these type of issues. During the parking ban, the City is asking all residents to please not park your cars in the streets so the plows can easily clean all the streets, but please keep in mind that items such as portable basketball hoops also need to be removed from the street. This Blizzard is going to be a big one, let's all work together to make it easier for our City workers to clean up."

City Offices will be open on Wednesday, January 28th at this time. Any announcements for the closing of City Offices on Wednesday will be on the local news stations, radio stations, and the City’s facebook page. While some in East Providence on FB and Twitter, have mentioned that small dead end streets are not yet plowed, the overwhelming response toward the city's storm preparation and snow plowing efforts is positive.

City rubbish removal is cancelled for Tuesday and may also be delayed or cancelled for Wednesday, depending on snowfall totals. There will be no school in the city on Wednesday also.

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