BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo is five days into what is now the deadliest storm in city history, and while the rest of the county is starting to open back up, the city is still blanketed and littered with hundreds of stranded cars, leaving these streets virtually unrecognizable.
Why is Buffalo now the only part of the county still left under a driving ban as of Tuesday night?
A big reason for that, according to county leaders, is that residents are still not following the driving ban and adding to the stranded cars, forcing the county to put 100 military police at the entrances and exits of the city and on the streets tonight to manage traffic and enforce the ban.
“There’s a lot of roads that are completely blocked right now that have no access whatsoever, and people are trying to drive on these roads or trying to get into these neighborhoods, and they can't,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. “Please, please, you heard the mayor beg, now I’m begging you. Stay home. If it's an emergency situation, call 911.”
The city is now getting assistance from the state as well, as the state police brought in this machine today that they call the rook that is physically lifting stranded cars out of the way so that the roads can be plowed and accessed by emergency vehicles.
For those whose cars were removed, the county advises you to check their website where they’ll post a list of all the cars that they have in their possession.
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