Atlanta mayor continues to defend city's response to storm

ATLANTA (AP) -- Atlanta's mayor is battling back against accusations that the city failed to prepare for snow and ice that jammed freeways and left drivers and schoolchildren stranded for hours in sub-freezing temperatures.

In a Thursday morning interview on NBC's "Today" show, Mayor Kasim Reed said many of the news photos and videos showing freeways littered with abandoned cars are not in the city but in the surrounding region.

Reed noted that the city doesn't have jurisdiction of those freeways and said most streets in Atlanta itself are passable.

Reed said the lesson he learned from Tuesday's storm is that schools, businesses and government agencies should stagger the release of their students and workers before storms so they are not entering the freeway system at the same time, leading to traffic gridlock.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/1/270546