Facebook/City of New Haven
Lyles greets Harp during storm.
Mayor Toni Harp rode city plow truck #152 during Tuesday’s blizzard, and brought a live video audience along with her.
The mayor turned on Facebook Live on her phone as she hopped a ride on one of the new plows with veteran driver Glen Lyles and they navigated Edwards, Nash, Linden, Newhall, and Ivy streets, among others in East Rock and Newhallville.
“We’re noticing that some people parked their cars on the right side, and some people did not. And yet they expect us to clean the street in spite of that!” Harp reflected along the ride.
“We can’t get the streets done” when people park on the odd, Lyles added.
He showed Harp the features of the modern trucks her administration has purchased. “We’ve got the best,” said Lyles, who switches to sweeping streets in the warm weather.
The drivers have been pulling 16-hour shifts and are expected to continue doing so at least through Thursday, as a frozen “mashed-potato” snow-ice mixture has made plowing harder.
View Harp’s videos here. (You’ll see one prominently displayed video, then two others to the right; you’ll need to poke around the city website to rind the rest.)
Harp asked Lyles about the people he has encountered clearing streets during his 29 years at public works.
“You’ve got some nice people. You’ve got some shady people — [they] want to give you the bird and give you the finger,” he said with a chuckle.
“That’s not nice,” Harp observed.