snow jam 14, day three

most government offices, schools, and a whole lot of restaurants and other businesses remain closed today, but a few things are back up and running this morning --- weirdly starbucks remains closed --- the main streets are basically ice-free, but the side streets and sidewalks remain a mess --- and the squawking continues about the epic traffic jams all around the city ---

i still think the forecasting was for shit, but the real problem is transportation, as rebecca burns does a great job explaining:

What happened in Atlanta this week is not a matter of Southerners blindsided by unpredictable weather. More than any event I’ve witnessed in two decades of living in and writing about this city, this snowstorm underscores the horrible history of suburban sprawl in the United States and the bad political decisions that drive it. It tells us something not just about what’s wrong with one city in America today but what can happen when disaster strikes many places across the country. As with famines in foreign lands, it’s important to understand: It’s not an act of nature or God—this fiasco is man-made from start to finish.. . . . 

As a Walking Dead fan, I appreciate all those jokes on social media, but as an Atlantan, I’m concerned that this storm revealed just how unprepared we are in case of real disaster. If Atlanta, the region, wants to get serious about public safety, its mayors, county officials, and state officials will need to start practicing regionalism instead of paying lip service to it. And whether threatened by a dangerous pandemic, a major catastrophe, or just two inches of snow, we need to have ways to get around—and out of—the city other than by car.

read the whole thing ---

cnn's zombie atlanta shot: