Despite what shoppers and coffee addicts may think, when Erie County officials talk about “essential” workers allowed to travel during a driving ban, they don’t mean Amazon and Tim Hortons employees.
County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the county and local law enforcement had some issues with both businesses when all but essential personnel were banned from roadways in Erie County during the winter storm Sunday. And some weren’t terribly optimistic that driving bans would be observed when they resumed on Wednesday.
“We had some requests from employees that worked for Tim Hortons, saying they were told they had to come in because they’re essential,” Poloncarz said Tuesday. “Tim Hortons is not essential. I know people want their cup of coffee. But when the driving ban is happening, and snow is falling at 3 to 5 inches an hour, people don’t need to get to work at a Tim Hortons. So, to the Tim Hortons owners out there, as much as you think you’re essential, you’re not.”
The Town of Lancaster was forced to grapple with a much bigger problem as waves of Amazon tractor-trailers pulled up to the Amazon Fulfillment Center at 4201 Walden Ave.
The Amazon sorting facility was closed, and facility employees and local delivery trucks were not working, said Lancaster Supervisor Robert Leary.
But word apparently did not spread to Amazon’s tractor-trailer contractors, who showed up at the Walden site throughout the driving ban to pick up or deliver goods.
“The facility itself was closed, but the drivers kept coming,” Leary said. “And the police department was basically under orders to ticket them and get them out of there immediately before it became a bigger issue.”
Lancaster Police Chief William Gummo estimated that town police ticketed a few dozen Amazon truckers and required that the trucks be moved to a vacant development across the street to wait out the driving ban. Â
This isn’t a new problem with Amazon. During the 2022 Christmas week…
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