Mayor Nutter Says 700 City Workers Ready To Fan Out When Snow Begins
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Nutter announced this evening that Philadelphia government offices and courts are closed tomorrow, so non-essential workers can stay home while the storm system moves in.
The mayor announced earlier this afternoon that all schools operated by the Philadelphia School District would be closed tomorrow.
Streets Department crews are essential though, and hundreds will be out plowing.
Nutter said that once the storm begins, approximately 700 workers from the Streets Department will fan out throughout the city, using about 400 pieces of equipment, salting and then plowing.
"You know this will be a marathon cleanup effort, based on the level and the intensity of this storm, that will stretch into the weekend, before we can consider our work to be completely done," the mayor said.
The city has adequate salt supply to deal with this latest storm.
A snow emergency has been declared in Philadelphia as of 8pm tonight, requiring all cars parked along "snow emergency" routes to be relocated elsewhere. Snow Emergency information and a map of Snow Emergency routes can be found here.
READ: $5 Rate To Go Into Effect At Some Center City Garages Wednesday Evening
The city's Emergency Operations Center is being activated at 8pm.
Trash and recycling collection for Thursday and Friday is cancelled. Residents in those areas should hold their trash until next week. Next week's trash and recycling collection will begin on Monday, despite the President's Day holiday.
All reports of down trees -- unless they pose an immediate hazard -- should go to the non-emergency call line, 311.
If city gets six inches, it will move this winter into the top 5 for the snowiest winters in the history of Philadelphia, according to the mayor. And it would mean the city has had 4 storms in one season that top six inches.
Stay tuned to KYW Newsradio 1060, CBS-3, and CBSPhilly.com for continuing storm coverage.
