By KEITH GRANT
Single-digit wind-chill temperatures Tuesday morning greeted early commuters, who were not in a particularly chatty mood as they raced towards heated trains. "I HATE it!" one woman said of the weather through clenched teeth.
The Farmer's Almanac is calling for a particularly cold winter ahead for the Northeast region, with the possibility of several snow storms. Several residents gathering at the Long Beach Historical Society's holiday party last week revealed their own advance plans for keeping warm in the coming months.
"I lower my heat and go to Florida!" said Roberta Fiore. Naturally, not all residents will be quite as able to duck the cold so easily, though, as Jean Sondergaard revealed. Her practical approach to the season consists of a half-dozen new blankets, "and I wear a lot of sweaters," Ms. Sondergaard said.
Many residents spoken with on the street said they were gas heat users and were devoid of fears of unusually high heating costs for the winter due to the year's soaring oil prices. But those who haven't switched to other heating means-or other states-have found oil companies willing to negotiate through the crisis.
"I found a company that was willing to lock me up at one price for the winter, so I don't have to pay a penny more," Alex Karafinas said. "Which was great, because I don't want to have to convert to gas."
Other than staying warm indoors, the other concern on the minds of residents will be digging themselves out of the predicted snowfalls, but city officials feel they're well prepped for any potential emergencies.
"We meet periodically to get ourselves ready as we get closer to the snow season," said City Manager Bruce Nyman. "Somehow, the city's at its best when we get a snow storm or a hurricane. Everyone has an assignment and gets where they're supposed to be."
The procedure is an old one, he said, but will have one change this coming winter.
"We're going to make a special effort to try at all times to keep the snow away from the driveways," he said. "If there are driveways on both sides, well there's not much [the drivers] can do. But wherever possible, they try to keep it away from the driveways."
Mr. Nyman said just about all city trucks are equipped with plows in a snow storm and used to clear the streets. With the city's layout, he said, snow removal is easier than for most communities.
"It's easy for us because we're compactly built. We don't have any long winding roads or hills. We can attack it with military precision."
The city budgets each year for potential overtime costs from snow removal, which in most years helps the city to build a surplus.
"We're prepared financially and physically," Mr. Nyman said.
The city manager said the city rarely experiences pipe breaks on its own property, but about two or three dozen a year do happen throughout Long Beach and employees keep an eye out for them.
"Obviously some of our residents are in Florida, so we tell all of our outside employees to keep an eye out so we can respond to any breaks," he said.
In the event of a snow storm, the city urges residents to remove their cars from designated Snow Emergency Routes during the storms. Doing so allows all critical emergency vehicles and public transportation to pass through safely after the snow is removed.
"It's a small inconvenience for the residents who are affected, compared to the greater good for our city," said city council president Joel Crystal. "We hope that everyone will comply so that our roads can be cleared quickly."
Designated Snow Emergency Routes are: W. Beach St. from New York Ave. to Nevada St.; W. Park Ave. between New York Ave. and Nevada; the west side of Maryland Ave between Beech and Park; Shore Road between Long Beach Rd. and Pacific Blvd.; East Pine St. between Neptune Blvd. and Curley St.; and Park Pl. north of Park Ave. Parking on the Pine St. canal bridges is strictly prohibited.
In the event of a snow emergency, the police department will use public address systems to alert residents and shop-keepers to remove their vehicles from these routes. Streets will be reopened for parking after the snow is cleared.
