The price for politically correct idiocy has to be paid. A year ago the Red/green coalition that rules Stockholm city introduced what they called “gender-equal snow clearance”. With the first, early, albeit heavy, snowfall of November the clearance system was a fiasco as it degenerated into a farce.
(The Red/Green coalition is notorious for its lack of common sense and known for a very warped sense of right and wrong. They inevitably prioritise what is wrong. They believe victims of crime have only themselves to blame and that criminals are victims. They believe that returning jihadists from Iraq and Syria need to be cared for and treated for the trauma of having killed so many others. They believe that biology can be legislated away).
But even after the fiasco (and I experienced it myself when a journey which normally took a little over 2 hours, took over 3 going and about 5 hours returning), the only real change will be a new report. In my opinion and from what I experienced the snow clearing was extremely careless but more importantly, was incompetent. It was the unevenness of the clearance, followed by freezing, which created vicious pot-holes. Driving through Stockholm last Thursday reminded me of driving along the pot-hole strewn death-trap from Calcutta to Durgapur just after the monsoons.
When winter comes, the roads have generally been plowed first, but last winter Stockholm introduced something called “gender-equal” snow removal in the city. It meant that the bike paths, sidewalks and roads with heavy public transport have been given priority.
But when the snow struck Stockholm earlier this week the new snow removal was a flop. Vice Mayor of Stockholm, Daniel Helldén (MP), is self-critical. In an interview with the Daily News, he admits that pedestrian and bicycle paths have not been cleared as intended.“I have requested an emergency report to know what has happened these past few days. If it failed somewhere and we’ll correct it. With this report, we hope to be able to do it better next time,” he told DN.
Daniel Helldén is ultimately responsible for the snow removal work and he regrets that many were stuck on the roads or in public transport and could not get through.
“I will do my utmost so that we do not have to experience this kind of chaos again. Large snowstorms always means trouble. But it should not be like it was now,” he says.
Foto: Pär Brandt/auto motor & sport
The k2p blog 