Atlanta hasn't been burned this badly since Sherman

[Timonen]

what do you gain by fighting this point? atl has ~5M people in the metro area. every commuter, kid in school and person going to get them (plus everyone waiting on those folks and coordinating help, etc) was impacted. You really want to parse numbers? To what end?

"During the day, we have a million to 1.2 million people in this city and all those people were out in very bad weather. It hampered our ability to get our equipment on the ground and to prepare our roads for that," Reed told a news conference.

http://news.yahoo.com/winter-storm-brings-39-once-decade-39-ice-020122982--finance.html

"We got a million people out of the city," Reed said

"So that's roughly 5 million people who all got on the roads at the same time, which clearly caused a massive traffic jam. Then, while they're out there, the snow gets worse, turns into slush, and then, eventually, full-on sheets of ice. And, while everyone was in gridlock, they couldn't reload the salt trucks because the gridlock was too thick to navigate back to the salt storage areas (we have 30 trucks and 40 plows in ATL proper)," Medwed said.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/29/us/atlanta-traffic-hell-why/

 

[CusefanATL]

These Atlanta guys are proving there soft with there reactions.

their X 2

 

[CusefanATL]

exaggerate much?

no. 5 million affected somehow was only in atlanta area. If you do the state or the region, there were many more.

there were also more than 1 million cars affected.

 

[NashvilleOrange]

I'm sure Shafer didn't realize the seriousness of the situation when making the tweet and at the time I thought it was a pretty good joke. I wouldn't necessarily characterize the South as 'soft' when it comes to winter weather, I'd go with 'inexperienced.' People just don't know how to drive in the snow, most drive really slow but I always see a good number of people driving like lunatics and going 80 on the interstate. Also the ice that covers the road here is as hazardous as any blizzard you'll see in the Northeast, couple that with the fact that nobody has winter tires and it can be a mess. I'm sure Shafer learned from the situation and even though the national media like Paul Finebaum got all butthurt, it was still cool hearing Shafer's name mentioned everywhere.

 

[PhatOrange]

no. 5 million affected somehow was only in atlanta area. If you do the state or the region, there were many more.

there were also more than 1 million cars affected.

there's about 6 million people around atlanta. 1 in 6 people were driving a car that day all at the same time? bull.

 

[CousCuse]

How was that different from what they usually vote on?

Because you couldn't even dispute anything in it or be labeled a barbaric savage . Normally there is some debate and horse trading.

 

[Timonen]

there's about 6 million people around atlanta. 1 in 6 people were driving a car that day all at the same time? bull.

again, what the heck do you gain from parsing numbers (that are being quoted in multiple places, not just made up)? what does your attempt to minimize something from hundreds of miles away accomplish? do you feel better about yourself and whatever toil you've been through in life? i wouldn't debate people who have been on the moon about what it's like to be on the moon.

 

[mscanlo]

there's about 6 million people around atlanta. 1 in 6 people were driving a car that day all at the same time? bull.

not an exaggeration, which is why this storm was so unique. i would be willing to say it took at least a million people 4+ hours to get home, and many thousands 20+ hours (i believe there were 5000 students in atlanta stuck at school for the night, of which, something like 900 were stuck on buses all night). it wasn't so much the snow, it was the snow coupled with the traffic. and yes, EVERYONE tried to leave at the same time, which is one of the biggest issues.

yes, 2 inches of snow should not do this and syracuse can handle 2 inches of snow, but you couple 2 inches of snow (which is equivalent to a blizzard in syracuse when it comes to cities being able to handle volumes they are use to), and add 1M+ people (probably in Atlanta city proper alone, more like 4M+ in the metropolitan area) trying to go home at the same time, it is cause for a disaster

 

[Pyle]

not an exaggeration, which is why this storm was so unique. i would be willing to say it took at least a million people 4+ hours to get home, and many thousands 20+ hours (i believe there were 5000 students in atlanta stuck at school for the night, of which, something like 900 were stuck on buses all night). it wasn't so much the snow, it was the snow coupled with the traffic. and yes, EVERYONE tried to leave at the same time, which is one of the biggest issues.

yes, 2 inches of snow should not do this and syracuse can handle 2 inches of snow, but you couple 2 inches of snow (which is equivalent to a blizzard in syracuse when it comes to cities being able to handle volumes they are use to), and add 1M+ people (probably in Atlanta city proper alone, more like 4M+ in the metropolitan area) trying to go home at the same time, it is cause for a disaster

Ive been to Atlanta in May, it took an hour to get from a suburb to the Varsity, no a perfectly sunny day. The problem wasn't the snow, or the ice, the problem is that Atlanta is cluster-fart when it comes to transportation. The city has too many drivers. Add in any kind of kink to an already broken system and the whole thing shuts down which is exactly what happened to these people.

As for the argument that we have plows and salt, well salt only works to certain temps between 10 and 20 degrees, after that it's nothing more than sand on the road. We can drive on ice in CNY, we do it a lot. Temps have been frigid for weeks, salt effect has been minimal. I've also lived in Northern WI, where there is no salt period because it's never warm enough, just sand trucks. You drive on a base of ice practically all winter long. Southerners can't drive on ice, we can. So please stop with the snow vs ice argument. We get PLENTY of ice in Syracuse and the rest of the northern USA.

 

[orangecuse]

In my opinion, the onus rests purely with the city officials and its citizens. Poor planning all around, simple as that. Charlotte, for the most part, has the same weather as Atlanta, at least the 20 some odd years I've been here. The approaching storm (if you can actually call 2" of snow a storm) was advised here a solid 36 hours or so prior to it arriving. Atlanta simply failed. It's not as if this weather is unheard of for them, maybe not commonplace, but certainly not out of the seasonal realm. Just a few years ago Atlanta had that snow/ice storm when hosting the Super Bowl...that wasn't that long ago...

 

[orangecuse]

Ive been to Atlanta in May, it took an hour to get from a suburb to the Varsity, no a perfectly sunny day. The problem wasn't the snow, or the ice, the problem is that Atlanta is cluster-fart when it comes to transportation. The city has too many drivers. Add in any kind of kink to an already broken system and the whole thing shuts down which is exactly what happened to these people.

As for the argument that we have plows and salt, well salt only works to certain temps between 10 and 20 degrees, after that it's nothing more than sand on the road. We can drive on ice in CNY, we do it a lot. Temps have been frigid for weeks, salt effect has been minimal. I've also lived in Northern WI, where there is no salt period because it's never warm enough, just sand trucks. You drive on a base of ice practically all winter long. Southerners can't drive on ice, we can. So please stop with the snow vs ice argument. We get PLENTY of ice in Syracuse and the rest of the northern USA.

Ironically, a vast majority of people living in Atlanta are not (Southerners) from there...

 

[JarHeadJim]

Ive been to Atlanta in May, it took an hour to get from a suburb to the Varsity, no a perfectly sunny day. The problem wasn't the snow, or the ice, the problem is that Atlanta is cluster-fart when it comes to transportation. The city has too many drivers. Add in any kind of kink to an already broken system and the whole thing shuts down which is exactly what happened to these people.

As for the argument that we have plows and salt, well salt only works to certain temps between 10 and 20 degrees, after that it's nothing more than sand on the road. We can drive on ice in CNY, we do it a lot. Temps have been frigid for weeks, salt effect has been minimal. I've also lived in Northern WI, where there is no salt period because it's never warm enough, just sand trucks. You drive on a base of ice practically all winter long. Southerners can't drive on ice, we can. So please stop with the snow vs ice argument. We get PLENTY of ice in Syracuse and the rest of the northern USA.

The Atlanta/Athens Varsitys are NASTY compared to Varsitys on Marshall St

 

[Pyle]

The Atlanta/Athens Varsitys are NASTY compared to Varsitys on Marshall St

Agreed. I was not impressed. My friend from ATL swore I had to go there. When we left I told them I don't get it, I can get a better burger at Wendys and a better chili dog(red hot) from Hoffmans. They looked at me like I was insane. Other than the free hats for my kids and the "Waddyahav?" the place is kinda gross and the food is awful.

 

[JarHeadJim]

Agreed. I was not impressed. My friend from ATL swore I had to go there. When we left I told them I don't get it, I can get a better burger at Wendys and a better chili dog(red hot) from Hoffmans. They looked at me like I was insane. Other than the free hats for my kids and the "Waddyahav?" the place is kinda gross and the food is awful.

The Onion rings and Orange drink are the only things good in the whole place.

 

[mscanlo]

Ive been to Atlanta in May, it took an hour to get from a suburb to the Varsity, no a perfectly sunny day. The problem wasn't the snow, or the ice, the problem is that Atlanta is cluster-fart when it comes to transportation. The city has too many drivers. Add in any kind of kink to an already broken system and the whole thing shuts down which is exactly what happened to these people.

As for the argument that we have plows and salt, well salt only works to certain temps between 10 and 20 degrees, after that it's nothing more than sand on the road. We can drive on ice in CNY, we do it a lot. Temps have been frigid for weeks, salt effect has been minimal. I've also lived in Northern WI, where there is no salt period because it's never warm enough, just sand trucks. You drive on a base of ice practically all winter long. Southerners can't drive on ice, we can. So please stop with the snow vs ice argument. We get PLENTY of ice in Syracuse and the rest of the northern USA.

my last post on this. i think you are arguing the same thing as me. i wasn't arguing snow vs. ice, but it's the fact that 2 inches of snow/ice mixed (again, which is equivalent to syracuse getting a major blizzard since it happens so few times in atlanta) in with our already terrible infrastructure (that has sunshine delays for sakes), coupled with the volume of people leaving at once (anytime there is a risk of a major snowstorm, or ice, syracuse people, as do other cities, take extra precaution. atlanta did not.) caused the issue

 

[CusefanATL]

there's about 6 million people around atlanta. 1 in 6 people were driving a car that day all at the same time? bull.

on a tuesday?

I cant tell if you are serious or not... I guess more?

 

[orange_in_VA]

I don't get the mass hysteria caused by the "reported" 2 inches of snow in Atlanta.
I saw pictures and videos all over the internet where you could still see grass, and road.
My whole adult/driving life has been spent in the "south", Virginia Beach, and Manassas VA.
I've never personally had any issues driving in snow, and cant think of any friends or family who did either.
We had around 8 inches last week, and I still had to drive my 15 miles to work and 15 miles home, at night, in a mustang.
The roads were not plowed or treated, and I was driving on top of snow and ice with no issues.
I've always felt safe driving in the snow as long as you slow down.
I didn't feel safe driving over 35 miles per hour, so I didn't, and neither did anyone else who wasn't in a big, lifted, southern boy truck.
I did feel like those people were gonna kill someone though as they zoomed by us, spitting snow into our windshields.
The only thing I can think of is that these southern folks are not used to even seeing snow, and that just the thought of driving in it gives them so much anxiety they lose their ability to even think clearly.
That being said, the local and state government screwed the pooch on this one.
No reason kids should have been in school, knowing they had no way of combating the elements, and business owners in general are pretty bad about closing up shop when there are pennies to be made.
Calling "reported" 2 inches of snow "The Snowpocalypse" = "softnosed" IMO

 

[shandeezy7]

their X 2

Not quite

 

[Timonen]

I don't get the mass hysteria caused by the "reported" 2 inches of snow in Atlanta.
I saw pictures and videos all over the internet where you could still see grass, and road.
My whole adult/driving life has been spent in the "south", Virginia Beach, and Manassas VA.
I've never personally had any issues driving in snow, and cant think of any friends or family who did either.
We had around 8 inches last week, and I still had to drive my 15 miles to work and 15 miles home, at night, in a mustang.
The roads were not plowed or treated, and I was driving on top of snow and ice with no issues.
I've always felt safe driving in the snow as long as you slow down.
I didn't feel safe driving over 35 miles per hour, so I didn't, and neither did anyone else who wasn't in a big, lifted, southern boy truck.
I did feel like those people were gonna kill someone though as they zoomed by us, spitting snow into our windshields.
The only thing I can think of is that these southern folks are not used to even seeing snow, and that just the thought of driving in it gives them so much anxiety they lose their ability to even think clearly.
That being said, the local and state government screwed the pooch on this one.
No reason kids should have been in school, knowing they had no way of combating the elements, and business owners in general are pretty bad about closing up shop when there are pennies to be made.
Calling "reported" 2 inches of snow "The Snowpocalypse" = "softnosed" IMO

so this is a tiny piece of it (early on while still light). you think the root is that southern folks lost their ability to think clearly? what about the 50% of us who are from the north or all the professional tractor trailor drivers? what's the reasoning there? folks need to stop applying what they've experienced to this. it's apples vs. oranges. this isn't a cultural issue. it's a math issue. too many cars for the infrastructure in that condition.

 

[CusefanATL]

Not quite

HAHA! the funny thing is that i didnt notice both the 1st time... i actually went back and edited to make it "X 2"

they're and their.

 

[CusefanATL]

so this is a tiny piece of it (early on while still light). you think the root is that southern folks lost their ability to think clearly? what about the 50% of us who are from the north or all the professional tractor trailor drivers? what's the reasoning there? folks need to stop applying what they've experienced to this. it's apples vs. oranges. this isn't a cultural issue. it's a math issue. too many cars for the infrastructure in that condition.

You and I both know we are right.

Just so everyone else knows, I know for a FACT that I am from Syracuse NY - Jurrie from Rochester, NY. I would guess Timonen has at least spent 4 years in syracuse if he didnt live there or grow up there. There are others that live in Atlanta that are from Cuse, Rochester, Buffalo, down state, the north country etc... There is a reason we are all on this forum. 99% of us either went to Syracuse University or lived there for a period of time.

Do you "fellow Syracuse fans" think we all of a sudden don't know what bad driving is? Do you think that we all of a sudden forgot what Syracuse driving was like? Why are you arguing with us? What is the point of it? There were over a million cars. The roads were not drive able.

I live in Atlanta... My roots, my heart and soul and my 'home' remain in Syracuse. Leave the north/south rivalry out of it. If you want to banter - feel free, but keep it civil and keep it soft. There were lives at stake.

 

[Timonen]

You and I both know we are right.

Just so everyone else knows, I know for a FACT that I am from Syracuse NY - Jurrie from Rochester, NY. I would guess Timonen has at least spent 4 years in syracuse if he didnt live there or grow up there. There are others that live in Atlanta that are from Cuse, Rochester, Buffalo, down state, the north country etc... There is a reason we are all on this forum. 99% of us either went to Syracuse University or lived there for a period of time.

Do you "fellow Syracuse fans" think we all of a sudden don't know what bad driving is? Do you think that we all of a sudden forgot what Syracuse driving was like? Why are you arguing with us? What is the point of it? There were over a million cars. The roads were not drive able.

I live in Atlanta... My roots, my heart and soul and my 'home' remain in Syracuse. Leave the north/south rivalry out of it. If you want to banter - feel free, but keep it civil and keep it soft. There were lives at stake.

11 years up there for me. school, grad school and then 5-6 years of being a local...plus a million trips up and down 81 to the philly area with iced over roads, zero visability and tractor trailors on all sides. you said it perfectly. anybody who has seen both *gets it*.

 

[TheCusian]

This thread, this argument from both sides, and the twitter firestorm all outpaced the original joke from Shafer by miles.

It was in bad taste, given the freshness of the event - but it wasn't worth what it got. Jokes about weather are the oil in the gears of small talk - just ask any announcer who ever called a game from the dome.

 

[creeker46]

11 years up there for me. school, grad school and then 5-6 years of being a local...plus a million trips up and down 81 to the philly area with iced over roads, zero visability and tractor trailors on all sides. you said it perfectly. anybody who has seen both *gets it*.

it was a joke I cant believe you guys didnt "get it"

 

[djcon57]

Yeah on that front.. I just want to note that none of MY posts were in agreement with the sentiment of the tweet. I just thought the faux outrage on twitter and the responses of supposed professional journalists were rather humorous and typical of the latest "Get em, mob!" mentality that's been occurring more and more

Now living in LA, I have much sympathy for traffic disasters and the mental/physical toll it can take on people.