By Carrié Solages

Article XII, section 1205 of the Nassau County Charter makes it clear: “It shall be the duty of the county Department of Public Works as a county charge to remove snow as rapidly as may be from all county highways and county roads within or without any city or village.”

So too does Chapter 67, Section 3 of Hempstead Town Code: “The Superintendent of Highways shall be responsible for the removal of snow from any and all specified areas, together with all Town parking fields, and shall have the right, subject to the approval of and financing by the Town Board, to hire personnel for such purposes and to provide for the supervision of such personnel.”

The directives are clear and straightforward, but as we know all too well in a hyper-partisan age of government, their execution is not always that simple.

After the Jan. 24-25 winter storm dumped nearly a foot of snow, sleet and ice on our region, I took to the roads of Legislative District 3, and saw a significant difference in how Town of Hempstead roads were plowed. Take a look at the videos on my social media pages and you’ll see how Franklin Square’s roads were cleared more promptly than comparable residential roads in Elmont.

These communities pay taxes to the same township for the same services. Their roads aren’t used just by Democrats or Republicans — they’re roads everybody relies on. So why was there such a noticeable disparity in services?

Then there is the Woodfield Road overpass on the Southern State Parkway, an essential county road serving the communities of Lakeview and West Hempstead. Five days after the storm, an adjoining sidewalk remained untouched, forcing pedestrians to walk in the heavily traveled main road. With icy conditions directly adjoining, people were taking their lives in their hands every time they walked this path.

Again, Lakeview and West Hempstead taxpayers send their payments to the same county as other areas that were better served. Democrats and Republicans use this road and rely on the sidewalks to cross the overpass.

What, then, is the common thread?

Snow removal should never be political, but in this case I can’t overlook the fact that the areas in District 3 that seemed to be neglected are bases of Democratic registration — and the areas that were cleared faster are in areas of traditional Republican strength. At present, the Hempstead Town Board is controlled by a 6-1 Republican supermajority, and county government is dominated by County Executive Bruce Blakeman, whose hyper-partisan approach to governance is well documented.

Faced with urgent needs, I felt there was no choice but to take matters into my own hands. I used my social media platforms to call out the Town of Hempstead’s inaction, communicate with constituents to identify trouble areas, and demand an equitable, prompt response from the town.

In Lakeview, with traffic control assistance from the auxiliary police, I joined a group of volunteers in clearing the Woodfield Road walkway. Public shame seemed to do the trick in this case: The following day, Blakeman dispatched County DPW resources to Woodfield Road at long last, and they cleared the sidewalk.

Let me be clear: I don’t fault the hardworking men and women at the town and county DPWs who toiled day and night to clear the snow after that first major winter storm.

Their efforts were deeply appreciated, and their hard work must not go unnoticed. I just wish that, for residents in every corner of our town, there were more thorough preparation so that those workers could be better deployed by their superiors and the elected officials who are ultimately responsible for results.

We are in a La Niña cycle, and that means bitter cold and significant snow will likely be with us for the remainder of this winter season. It is incumbent on all of us to apply the lessons we learned during the January storm to achieve better results for all of Nassau County’s communities — and to take the politics out of the delivery of this most basic and essential service.

Carrié Solages represents Nassau County’s 3rd Legislative District.