Editorial: Interstate Standstill Shouldn't Have Happened
Neil Heinen Weighs In On Incident In Which Hundreds Were Stranded
Updated: 11:21 am CST February 8, 2008
By Neil Heinen
Editorial DirectorIt's disconcerting to see the smiling faces and listen to the claims of success from law enforcement and public safety officials talking about the response to the thousands of motorists stranded on the interstate during Wednesday's storm. Clearly this was a dangerous situation and the people affected were frightened and angry. They, and all of us, deserve clear answers on why it took so long to reach these stranded motorists and why more wasn't done to deal with the situation.From what WISC-TV reporters and editors have learned, there is still confusion over just when the stalled vehicles started to block the interstate, how jurisdiction and coordination issues were decided and how communication was handled to name a few of the areas that require investigation.This was a major storm, unprecedented in some ways. But we expect more from the emergency preparedness of our public safety providers. The chaos of this storm shouldn't have happened, and we should be assured it won't happen again. We'd like some answers please.What do you think? Give your two cents in Channel 3000's TALKBACK section.
Editorial DirectorIt's disconcerting to see the smiling faces and listen to the claims of success from law enforcement and public safety officials talking about the response to the thousands of motorists stranded on the interstate during Wednesday's storm. Clearly this was a dangerous situation and the people affected were frightened and angry. They, and all of us, deserve clear answers on why it took so long to reach these stranded motorists and why more wasn't done to deal with the situation.From what WISC-TV reporters and editors have learned, there is still confusion over just when the stalled vehicles started to block the interstate, how jurisdiction and coordination issues were decided and how communication was handled to name a few of the areas that require investigation.This was a major storm, unprecedented in some ways. But we expect more from the emergency preparedness of our public safety providers. The chaos of this storm shouldn't have happened, and we should be assured it won't happen again. We'd like some answers please.What do you think? Give your two cents in Channel 3000's TALKBACK section.
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