Smiley Under Fire for Providence Storm Response

Smiley Under Fire for Providence Storm Response

Three days after the weekend storms, many Providence streets are still a mess — poorly plowed and difficult to navigate.

It is hard to find a street that is plowed to the pavement, and it is nearly impossible to find a street that is plowed curb to curb.

Providence residents are furious, saying the Smiley administration’s 311 system has failed. In March, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley launched a “new and improved PVD311 website.”

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According to several Providence residents, the system has failed and generates an error report stating that the “mailbox is full.”

The Smiley administration admitted the failure.

“Due to the substantial increase in calls this weekend and this week, the City's mailbox reached capacity and needed vendor support while staff continued to triage incoming calls," said Smiley spokesperson Josh Estrella.

On Tuesday night, GoLocal spotted a woman shoveling the street at the corner of Tabor and University streets. She said she could not get her car around the corner and was taking the issue into her own hands by literally clearing the corner herself.

It was 5 degrees outside.

 

Emergency Response

Nothing demonstrated the failure to clear the street more than a video posted to Instagram that showed Providence Police and Fire Department Rescue responding to the shooting of two women on Tuesday, and having to combat a poorly plowed street, inches deep.

 

 

 

Small Businesses Impacted

Merchants on Hope Street - where street parking was nonexistent due to the snow on Wednesday - are also criticizing the city's response.

Dixie Carroll with J Marcel on Hope Street told GoLocal on Wednesday, "Came into work today to see that not one single parking space has been cleared in the entire business district. I called the mayor's office and spoke to a constituent representative, lodged a complaint, and she asked if she could do anything else."

"I said that I wanted a phone call back to know what the plan was to fix the situation," said Carrol. "She basically laughed and said, 'No one will call you back.'"

 

No Surprise

The storm was predicted nearly a week in advance, and the snow forecasts by the National Weather Service for Providence three days before the storm were exactly what fell. The Weather Service predicted a low of 11 inches and a high of 20 for Providence and the snowfall for Providence is recorded at 16 inches.

The City also benefited from the storm falling primarily on Sunday, rather than during work and school commutes.

Smiley was the last Mayor to announce a parking ban, which only added to the confusion. Smiley did not announce the parking ban until after 6 PM on Saturday night.

 

“Lack of Preparedness and Overall Strategy”

Council President Rachel Miller blasted the Smiley administration’s response.

“I’ve been on the phone since Sunday with neighbors who are understandably frustrated. Days after the storm, many streets are still narrow, unplowed, and difficult to navigate. My car has gotten stuck a few times right in my own neighborhood. DPW crews have been working nonstop, and I wholeheartedly support the workers on the ground,” said Miller.

“My concerns are with a lack of preparedness and overall strategy. Given the extent of this storm’s impacts, residents are eager to see progress on cleanup and hear clearer updates on what comes next. People tell me they just want to know when their streets will be cleared and what to expect in the days ahead, and that’s completely reasonable,” said Miller.

 

 

Mayor Defends Response

Smiley’s office defends the city’s response, but refuses to give his administration a grade for its effort yet.

“Due to the severity and timing of this storm, we knew early on that clean-up efforts on the side streets would take longer than usual. Moreover, the additional snowfall on Monday night, coupled with the need to replow several streets where snow was pushed back into them, extended clean-up efforts for communities across the state,” said Estrella.

“That is why we have continued to have plows and inspectors in every neighborhood and are continuing to triage 311 calls to address any remaining problematic areas in the city,” added Estrella.

"As the City’s snow clean-up response remains ongoing, the mayor will give a grade once complete," said Estrella.

But three days later, most of the city streets are poorly cleared

 

“Frustration”

State Representative David Morales says the City dropped the ball.

“Over the last several days, I’ve been hearing frustration from my constituents and neighbors around Providence about the city’s response to the snowstorm. This morning, our city’s parking ban was prematurely lifted, as residents discovered there was nowhere to park on their streets despite being instructed to move their cars from designated spaces. Workers who were supposed to return to their jobs this morning awoke to find their cars blocked in by snow banks or their streets still unplowed. I’ve spoken with several city councilors who have been fielding calls from their constituents as well, and I applaud them for doing everything they can to support their neighbors,” said Morales, who is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for mayor.

This story was first published 1/28/26 6:25 PM