City Street Crews Gear Up For Latest Winter Storm
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Michael Nutter declared a snow emergency for Philadelphia (effective at 10 p.m. Sunday) as Streets Department crews are once again dispatched with plows. Meantime, Nutter ordered a two-hour delay Monday in the opening of all city government offices, except for city courts, which are closed.
Dispatched in the city are 700 workers with 370 pieces of equipment for what the mayor says is the 16th such mobilization this winter. Nutter promised that residential streets will be made passable, but he cautioned that it may take two days after the storm ends before some streets are plowed:
"Our teams are out there, they will fight this storm, as they have fought all the other storms," he said, "but we do need your patience and your accommodation."
And the mayor vowed full enforcement of snow emergency routes.
"Given the fact that we had to give out 1,000 tickets in the last big snowstorm, and relocate more than 300 cars, we are not playing about getting cars off the snow emergency routes," he said. "We seriously need you to heed this information, and please follow these directions, so we can clear as much snow off of the roads as possible, before the temperatures fall into the teens or possibly single digits."
Discounted rates are in effect for the parking garages operated by the Parking Authority (See related story).
Monday trash and recycling collection in the city is canceled.