LaMattina: Charlestown Looking Better After Storm

Though there was a delay in getting Charlestown’s side streets plowed after the weekend snowstorm, the neighborhood was looking much better by Monday afternoon, District 1 City Councilor Sal LaMattina said.

“Today they’re out there full swing and the neighborhood looks good. We still have major snow piles on Main Street and Bunker Hill Street, and those need to be repaired. Hopefully the city won’t lift the parking ban until they remove some of those piles of snow,” LaMattina said.

The city councilor said he wasn’t sure what exactly caused the delay in plowing but that crews worked during the weekend to clear Charlestown’s major thruways.

“I heard that they were concentrated on the main arteries, which is Bunker Hill, Austin and Main Street, and they were working through the night,” he said.

While some Charlestown residents seemed to enjoy sledding and even skiing on the snow-covered streets, others were frustrated by the lack of plowing.

On Twitter, Stephen Newman posted a photo of snow piled up to vehicle wheel tops in the middle of Prospect Street at 11 a.m. Sunday, directing the tweet at the city's @NotifyBoston and added the hashtag #taxdollarshardatwork.

Twitter user KindofLuke said a local man in need of medical attention had to be "dragged out on sled" because the ambulance couldn't make it up unplowed Pearl Street.

By the time crews got to the side streets, there was so much snow piled up that backhoes were brought in to help clear the roads for traffic, LaMattina said.

Though driving is becoming easier through the neighborhood, parking in Charlestown remains a problem in the neighborhood, with snow piled along every street and reducing the city’s already limited on-street parking spaces.

Charlestown’s only city-approved snow emergency parking is located in Building 199 in the Navy Yard, and as of Monday it was completely full.

Some residents who parked at the Bunker Hill Mall in front of the former Johnnie’s Foodmaster returned to find their vehicles towed, LaMattina said.

“I’m not very happy with that,” he said of the tows. “That’s maybe something we need to work out with the owner of the parking lot, that maybe people could park there during a snow emergency."

LaMattina encouraged residents to call his office at 617-635 3200 if they continue to see issues related to the storm.

“For the most part, when people go home tonight, they’ll find the streets are plowed and passable,” he said. “The city still has some work to do. We need to remove a lot of snow. I think people just need to have a little patience.”