The Coalition of the Swilling

I sense a typical application for the Law of Unintended Consequences here:

"The city's approach means crews clear the roads enough for all-wheel and four-wheel-drive vehicles..."

I wonder how many people are going to switch to the evil SUV because of this policy?

Heh! Seattle once again demonstrates the fate of those colonized by emigrants from California.

And that comment about salt not being healthy for Puget Sound? Ye Gods, that is stupid beyond belief.

Oh, here are some other choice comments:

Seattle also equips its plows with rubber-edged blades. That minimizes the damage to roads and manhole covers, but it doesn't scrape off the ice, Wiggins said.

Which guarantees traction problems everywhere. Seattle has a lot of hills, with some very steep streets. Oops, speaking of which:

The city's patrol cars are rear-wheel drive. And even with tire chains, officers are avoiding hills and responding on foot, according to a West Precinct officer.

And here's Wiggins again, stating his priorities of people second, environment first.

"It's tough going. I won't argue with you on that," he said. But here in Seattle, "we're sensitive about everything we do that impacts the environment."

He's not honest (or brave) enough to come out and say "The safety and well being of the people in Seattle are second priority. They can suffer."

And this is pretty much the direction of western Washington, at least in the urban areas. At least the state transportation deparment still has the right sense of priorities (unlike other agencies). For now.

Ha! That's their politically correct excuse. The real reason is that they don't want to spend the money on salt. It's expensive.

I expect this to continue until someone is maimed for life because of inadequate clearing of roads and sues the city for negligence.

I think the problem is the type of salt used. If they use morton iodized salt then the roads would be clear but then the Puget sound would have salt molecules that don't clump together properly.

Kosher salt would probably not be a problem, and sea salt surely would be okay.

Rock salt would be a big problem too.

I think that y'all just aren't looking at this scientifically enough.

In that case, Skyler, they should put back what was taken from the sea.

And those envirotards are stupid enough to do it, too.

"If they use morton iodized salt then the roads would be clear but then the Puget sound would have salt molecules that don't clump together properly."

Somehow I think the Pacific Ocean is big enough to deal with it.