Ride-along: Taveras surveys city roads

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Roving city streets with some top officials, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras is personally overseeing the city's emergency operations during the Blizzard of 2013.

Eyewitness News Reporter Nicole Estaphan was along for the ride, while Mayor Angel Taveras and Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare patrolled city streets Friday night.

The main focus, according to Taveras, the city's hospitals and main roads.

"We like to focus on priority roads, making sure people have access to priority roads, and especially our hospitals. Making sure the rescues can get to the hospitals," said Taveras, also stressing the importance of staying home.. "It's going to get worse and we want people to stay off the roads. That's very, very important to us. And, that will allow us to do our job."

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Another concern Taveras said he has is the intense winds and potential power outages that are expected to accompany the blizzard.

"We want to make sure people have electricity and that they're able to warm their homes," Taveras said, reminding residents to report outages as soon as possible.

In addition to roving the streets and joining plow drivers on their routes, Taveras said technology is playing a big role in the city's storm operations and his efforts to keep people informed.

He said Providence Emergency Management officials can better track which streets have been cleared by using GPS technology on city plows.

He also keeps in communication with his constituents using social media.

"Technology is a way to get information out there, and let people know what's going on," Taveras said. "Anytime you can get the information out to people, especially during emergency situations, it's a good thing."