Roberts at work. Frozen windshield wipers make it hard to see. Grand Avenue/Ferry Street intersection gets a little bit of traffic. The snow on Front Street looked pristine, as if completely untouched by traffic. In fact, Public Works employee Robbie Roberts had plowed over it at least fou r times already. “A lot of these streets look like we didn’t touch them yet,” Roberts said behind the wheel of his 10-foot-tall, city-owned plow truck as he drove through Fair Haven. It was early afternoon on Sunday, not long after snowfall had begun to pick up as a major winter storm descended upon New Haven. Roberts was halfway through a 12-hour shift. The worst of the storm would begin in a few hours, when the city could begin seeing multiple inches fall per hour. Still, “we’ve gotten a lot of snow already,” he said. It would only be getting worse. Roberts’ city plow truck was one of 36 across the city and three stationed in Fair Haven on Sunday. That’s his usual route. It’s also the neighborhood where he’s lived since he was 8 years old. After 23 years with the city’s Public Works Department, he’s got enough seniority to pick where he goes, and he likes to stay in Fair Haven. It’s not just because it’s Roberts’ neighborhood or because he knows so many of its residents. It’s because he feels comfortable with the streets themselves. “I know the area very well,” he said. Fair Haven’s not the easiest route to plow, Roberts explained as he drove along Ferry Street, leaving small mountains of snow along the side of the road in his wake. The roads are narrow and there’s a lot of parking on both sides of the street. That’s less of a problem in neighborhoods like East Rock and Morris Cove, for example, where more residents have driveways, he explained. There had been a lot of ticketing and towing of cars on Sunday, according to Roberts. Mayor Justin Elicker told the Independent that as of late Sunday morning, 345 cars had been ticketed and 297 towed. Roberts had been working since 8 a.m. At the start of the day, Public Works heavily salted the roads and prioritized keeping main roads open for emergency vehicles. By around 1 p.m., the priority was to keep going over the streets along Roberts’ route, while being sure to keep emergency vehicles able to run smoothly. It had been a long time since New Haven had seen a storm this big; Roberts estimated about seven years. “We haven’t been getting real snow lately,” he said. “Times are changing, I think.” He wasn’t worried, especially since traffic had been cooperating. There were few cars on the road in the early afternoon, and those that were made sure to get out of his way. “They want help, that’s why,” he said, laughing. “They want the path to clear for them.” That was the case with a van on Alton Street, which appeared to be stuck. Roberts drove his plow around the van, clearing its path. “We plowed, now he can get going,” he said. Roberts also keeps a shovel in his truck in case anyone needs more help. Roberts did have concerns about visibility. His windshield wipers kept freezing, making it harder for him to see. He stopped at the Clinton Avenue underpass to give the truck a break, letting some of the ice melt. It wasn’t enough. He grabbed an ice scraper and got out of the truck, using it to break ice off of his wipers. “It’s happening a lot today because it’s a bad storm,” he said. While pausing under the underpass, a jeep drove past with its own plow. The driver honked and slowed down, lowering his window. “What’s up, Kit?” Roberts called out, smiling. The driver was a former Public Works employee who now drove around with a plow of his own. Roberts hacks at the ice. Kit says hi. Then it was time to get back to plowing. The radio, tuned to The River 105.9, played older hits like “Photograph” by Nickelback and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA.” Roberts said he doesn’t normally listen to any particular music while plowing, as he’s mostly focused on the road. “A lot of people think it’s fun,” he said. “It is, but it’s dangerous, too.” Plow drivers have to keep a close eye out for people, kids, and cars — careful not to take out a side mirror. And not to mention hills. Roberts said his truck had slid sideways down a hill a few years ago. “People think because you’re in this big truck you won’t slide, but you can.” As he climbed up Chatham from Front Street, he made sure to salt the road a little, to give cars some traction. “Cars could go sliding into traffic” without it, he said. In the past, he would need to manually use gears to disperse salt. But he got a new truck last year that lets him use a screen to control materials. He likes the new truck, but his off-duty ride is a little smaller: A Toyota. Roberts ices the base of Chatham hill. After 23 years with Public Works, Roberts is nearing retirement. “You don’t even want to see the snow no more after 23 years,” he said. He said he loved snow as a kid: He and his friends would go to the city golf course and sled down its hills. He recalled eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate while watching the snow fall. Now, at 66, he likes it less. Still, he likes being able to help people get around safely. Roberts spent his first 16 years with Public Works as a street sweeper and when he’s not plowing snow, he’s responding to emergency calls, like a lost manhole cover or SeeClickFix requests. He’s hoping to retire once he reaches 25 years with Public Works. In retirement, he wants to invest in real estate. “The problem is I like to work,” he said. “I work all my life.” In a phone interview Sunday, city Superintendent of Streets Steve Mustakos described Roberts as a hard worker who cares about the city and goes “above and beyond what he has to do.” He also noted that Public Works employees would need to begin slowing down, as snowfall was supposed to be most extreme between 2 and 6 p.m. “Right now, while we’re getting very heavy snowfall, limited visibility, the guys are chugging along,” he said. “They have to slow down. It’s hard to see right now. They have to proceed with caution.” By 2 p.m., the storm was worsening. “It’s picking up freezing rain and wind,” Roberts noted from behind the wheel. “I hope it doesn’t turn into ice.” He made a plea for residents: When shoveling snow on your property, don’t send it onto the streets, where cars can drive over it and pack it onto the road as ice. Roberts would be able to go home at 8 p.m. Then, the city’s trash crew would take over with the plowing. Roberts would be back on the job at 8 a.m. on Monday. How does he plan to spend the 12 hours he has off in between? “Sleeping.” An SUV drives around a stuck sedan. The water, from Front Street. The post Winter Storm, Meet Robbie’s Plow appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less