Philadelphia is more than ready to handle the next round of winter weather
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Crews in Philadelphia were prepping for another round of winter weather Friday. City leaders say they have different equipment for this storm so crews can clear those small and side streets that were not cleared in the last storm.
"Fifth one this year Dan, and so we're still out here fighting and ready to go," Philadelphia Office of Clean & Green Director Carlton Williams said.
Williams says crews started their brining process Friday morning. He's confident they'll be able to tackle this latest round of snow with 270 pieces of equipment and 35,000 tons of salt on hand.
One particular area of focus Williams says they're making this winter is the city's smaller and side streets.
"We're bringing in a combination of city forces and private contractors with smaller fleets and smaller equipment," Williams said. "We've made investments in skid steers or what we call bobcats in the industry, so they can get to those tight 6-foot to 8-foot streets."
PennDOT crews were also getting ready Friday treating roads in some surrounding counties as early as Thursday night.
"We'll get a little bit of a jump start there and then, come 10 o'clock, I'd expect the crews to start running their routes, waiting for the flakes to fall," Brad Rudolph, the Deputy Communications Director of PennDOT said.
Rudolph sees this winter's snowfall as a return to normal for our area after a few years of seeing just a few flakes. And the return of snow has been good for one business.
"It's been a lot of running around, a lot of getting orders in. Just getting the shelves stocked," Alex Jaconski, the manager of Stanley's Hardware said.
Jaconski with Stanley's Hardware in Roxborough says winter is normally their slow time and they count on shovel and salt sales to help get through the season.
The last few years he says they've sat on a stockpile of products, but not this winter.
"Oh, we've run out several times. You just get more stuff back in. It's just a rush to get it back in and get people what they need," Jaconski said.
PennDOT officials say the overnight storm should cut down on traffic during the peak snow hours. But there may be more drivers Saturday morning as we enter a holiday weekend.
"Watch your speeds. Give everyone plenty of space, especially our plow drivers, and just use some common sense out there," Rudolph said.
Rudolph also says the timing of the storm is fortunate. With it happening overnight, volume on the roads should be low. But with it being a holiday weekend, there might be a lot of travelers in the morning.
In West Chester, they are ready to roll too.
"Earlier today our Public Works Department went out and brined all of our streets to get that mixture worked into the roadways to help maybe make the snow not accumulate as quickly," Dave March, West Chester Police Public Information Officer and Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator said.
Michael Dempsey, from Market Street Hardware in West Chester, says they are almost out of shovels and salt.
"We only have four or five shovels left," he said
The winter essentials have been flying off the pallets Friday night ahead of the snow.
"Non-stop. All day long," Dempsey added.
And while it's calm before the storm, PennDOT says they have been way more active this year and they are no stranger to it.
"It's more like a typical southeast Pennsylvania winter so far. This is one of those storms that we are very accustomed to, but it's been a-little bit since we had to deal with as many storms as this," Rudolph said