Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Allison Musante and Stephanie Vaccaro

By: centraljersey.com
Residents yesterday found themselves in what has become a perhaps too familiar condition this winter – digging themselves out of more than a foot of snow.
According to the weather service, Princeton received 17.1 inches.
Princeton Borough Police Capt. Nick Sutter said on Thursday morning, "It just dumped on us last night."
Since midnight, there were 17 stranded, stuck or abandoned vehicles in the borough. Wires were down on Elm Road, which caused a power outage. Officers were out directing traffic from midnight to until the power was restored.
Jefferson Road and Franklin Avenue also saw wires down around 2:50 a.m. PSE&G responded within an hour, said Capt. Sutter.
Bayard Lane, Route 206, between Cleveland Lane and Leigh Avenue had to be shut down at 2:30 a.m. due to a bus stranded in the roadway. The road was reopened at 3:30 a.m. after the bus was removed.
"I’m assuming cars were having problems getting up the hill," said Capt. Sutter.
As of 9:15 a.m., police reported conditions were steadily improving. "Snow removal operations are making a dent," he said.
Wayne Carr, director of the Department of Public Works in Princeton Borough, said it was "a tough snow" because it was frozen underneath.
"It came down four inches an hour, and with the cars all over the streets, we just couldn’t keep up with it," he said.
Cars driving on the streets also compounded the problem by compacting the snow, which caused it to freeze.
The DPW was planning to start hauling snow out of the borough tonight and going around the clock. The downtown area was the first to be scheduled, followed by Witherspoon and then the one-way and narrow streets such as Bank, Pine and Moran, said Mr. Carr.
The DPW budget is OK for now, he said.
"I think after this storm we’ll be running over it," said Mr. Carr.
A storm like this, with ice and snow, is more expensive to clean up because more rock salt must be laid down. Rock salt, which costs $55 per ton, and sun are the only ways to break up ice, he said, because plows are ineffective at removing ice, because they ride on top of it.
Princeton Township municipal offices were on a two-hour delay, opening at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
In the township, there were 21 disabled vehicles stuck in the snow since about 1 p.m. yesterday, said Sgt. Ernie Silagyi, of the township police.
Rosedale Road became impassable Wednesday night and officers had to take three people, non-residents, to the Municipal Building, where they spent the night in the community room, he said.
Officers did give residents who were stuck in the snow a lift home.
The township experienced wide-spread power outages, especially in the Edgerstoune, Cherry Valley and Snowden Lane areas, said Mr. Silagyi.
Three trees came down Wednesday night and brought down wires.
"There was a report of an explosion in the Cherry Valley area, which may have been a transformer," he said. The power company was notified.
There was one accident yesterday evening at 5 p.m. on Province Line Road where a car slid and struck a utility pole. The driver had a hand injury and was taken to the hospital by Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad.
A snow emergency was still in effect Thursday morning in the township and people are prohibited from parking on the streets. It was too early to tell when the emergency would be lifted, said Mr. Silagyi.
Plainsboro’s Department of Public Works said every available piece of equipment and every man was out Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. Most of the workers only saw a few hours of sleep, public works officials said.
Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Plainsboro police responded to six accidents, seven motor vehicle incidents, and 59 disabled cars. One of the accidents was an overturned vehicle on Route 1 South. The incidents mostly pertained to stranded vehicles that had to be towed. As of Thursday afternoon, Lt. Joe Duffy said the major roads were clean and public works was finishing up plowing the neighborhood and secondary streets. "But I think we’ve seen the worst of it and it should be getting better from here on out," Lt. Duffy said.Plainsboro Fire Company said they only received two calls related to the snow between midnight on Wednesday and Thursday. The calls concerned a fallen tree on a building and the overturned vehicle on Route 1, but firefighters were not needed on the scene, firefighter Tom Healy said.
In West Windsor, police responded to 19 accidents between 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday morning. Most of the accidents occurred Wednesday morning, Lt. Brian Melnick said. Four accidents were reported between Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
"Compared to Wednesday morning, there were a lot less people on the road Wednesday night into the morning, and I think that’s because they had more notice of this storm," he said. "People weren’t expecting the snow on Wednesday, and plus with schools being canceled, the volume of traffic wasn’t as high."
He said as of Thursday morning, the major roads in the township were treated and plowed, but public works was still working on clearing the back roads.
"The major roads are passable but the trucks are going through again," he said. "With this much snow, the first pass wasn’t enough."
Alex Drummond, director of West Windsor public works, said working through Wednesday night paid off, because by Thursday afternoon, most of the major roads were cleared and road crews were cleaning the shoulders and remaining slush. He said public works assisted several vehicles that were stuck on Washington Road and only a few vehicles that had been abandoned.
"When it was coming down last night by like one to two inches per hour, it was a little scary," he said. "It was basically white-out conditions. There was thunder and lightning, too, which was unusual and a little scary."
Lt. Melnick said West Windsor residents cannot deposit snow into the street and residents must shovel and de-ice sidewalks within 24 hours after snow has stopped falling. Lt. Melnick said those in violation of the two town ordinances may face a fine of up to $1,000 and 90 days of community service.
Diane Ciccone, West Windsor Township Council vice president, said at the council’s Jan. 18 meeting that police will be enforcing the ordinances.
"If anyone sees a sidewalk that hasn’t been shoveled or salted yet, they can call the police and they will make a visit to that house," she said. "I don’t think people realize how many use the sidewalks, especially the kids waiting for the bus stops."
In Montgomery, Police Lt. James Curry said the storm resulted in numerous vehicles that slid off roads or became disabled due to the snow.
"We have responded to a half dozen crashes so far," he said Thursday morning.
In addition to the numerous disabled vehicles over the past two days, at 5:17 a.m. there was a partial roof collapse, presumably from the weight of the snow, at a commercial building at 1026 Route 518, said Lt. Curry.
"A woman was sleeping in her office, unable to go home due to the weather, when she heard a large boom," he said. "Water began leaking from the ceiling and she exited the building. The roof collapse caused fire sprinkler pipes to break and a subsequent alarm. The fire company responded and found part of the roof had collapsed."
Montgomery building officials said the building that houses three businesses could not be occupied until repairs can be made.
In addition to being closed on Thursday, Montgomery schools had an early dismissal on Wednesday and all evening activities were canceled. Seniors at the high school were allowed to leave their cars in the parking lot overnight so they could ride the bus home.
Schools throughout the region were closed for the day.
The YWCA in Princeton was also closed. All programs and classes were canceled, including all after-school programs.
Princeton University was closed for non-essential staff. There were no classes scheduled because of intersession.