Philadelphia Lifts Snow Emergency Following Winter Storm
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia has lifted its snow emergency.
Managing Director Michael DiBerardinis says the snow emergency was lifted at noon Thursday.
"Motorists should allow extra time, exercise patience and maintain safe driving distances. The blowing wind can reduce visibility for changing road conditions," said DiBerardinis in a statement. "I would like to thank our Streets Department and all our other City agencies for being out there early to have roads ready for driving in time for the morning rush hour."
Salting/Plowing: The Philadelphia Streets Department – working in coordination with Parks and Recreation, L&I, Water, and CLIP – will continue its snow response until conditions sufficiently improve. Crews started salting operations at 6am and began plowing at 9am as the rain changed over to snow. There are currently 410 pieces of equipment as part of the snow operations and 800 employees working; nearly 8,000 tons of salt has been used as part of this storm response. Approximately 75% of all primary and secondary streets and 30% residential of streets had been serviced by crews by noon.
"We ask for patience as crews wrap up snow operations, and as sanitation collections resume on normal schedule," said Mike Carroll, Deputy Managing Director for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems. "After the storm ends crews will remain on duty to monitor road conditions and respond to service requests of impassable streets or icy conditions. We encourage residents to contact 311 to report any icy conditions."
Trash and Recycling: Residents that normally have collections on Thursdays are asked to hold their trash and recycling until the following week. Crews are expected to resume collections on Friday but residents should expect delays. Due to low snow accumulations, residents who normally have rear driveway pickup can resume placing their materials in the driveways. Residents are also reminded they can utilize the Streets Department's six Sanitation Convenience Centers to drop off their materials. The hours of operation are 8am – 6pm, Monday through Saturday. Because of Thursday's suspension of collections, the hours for the Centers today have been extended to 8pm this evening.
Parking: The lifting of the snow emergency means that Parking is now permissible on the Snow Emergency routes. If your car was towed from a snow emergency route, call 215-686-SNOW to find it. DO NOT CALL 911. The City and the Philadelphia Parking Authority recognize that because there was little accumulation on those routes, the ticketing and towing of vehicles should have ended at 9am. Any motorist whose car was towed after that time will not have to pay the fine. No action is required by the person who received the ticket. However, the City and PPA remind drivers that Snow Emergency Declarations must be observed, and cars must be moved during those periods, in order to ensure public safety during future snow events.
Normal parking enforcement will begin at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. That includes meter and time limit requirements as well as safety violations.
Motorists who parked in PPA garages prior to the lifting of the Snow Emergency Declaration at 12:00 noon today will receive the $5.00 special rate. They will have to go to the management office in the garage to receive the special rate. Motorists entering after noon today will be charged the normal rates.
The City's Emergency Operations Center, which had been activated at 5am, was de-activated at noon. City operations were very smooth this morning. There was lower than normal call volume at both Police 911 and Fire Communications Center and no major incidents.
Homeless Outreach: The City's Code Blue remains in effect until Saturday, February 11th at noon, to prevent weather related deaths among people experiencing homelessness during dangerously cold temperatures. During a Code Blue, the city's homeless outreach teams increase staffing and foot patrols throughout the city and transport homeless people directly to shelter 24 hours a day. Also, during a Code Blue, Philadelphia Police are authorized to transport homeless people to a shelter.
City officials urge concerned citizens who see a person living on the street to call Homeless Outreach at 215-232-1984 and report the sighting. During the call, citizens should provide the address, location, and description of the person in need. Homeless outreach teams are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Airport: Philadelphia International Airport continues to experience residual effects of the weather, so anyone flying in or out is encouraged to check the status of their flights with their carrier or on the airport's website – www.phl.org, or call 1-800-PHL-GATE.
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