Salting, Plowing Underway Throughout Philadelphia
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- City workers hit the streets at midnight as the latest snowstorm began, bringing 427 into operation for plowing and salting.
Philadelphia streets commissioner David Perri said this morning that those crews would remain on the job for as long as the storm continues, and beyond.
Samantha Phillips, the city's director of emergency management, says it will take many days to dig out from this doozy of a storm.
"As we move through the day, we're looking at downed trees and potentially downed power lines as the next thing we need to keep an eye on," she said.
Reports of downed trees or power lines should go to the city's non-emergency call center, 311, unless they pose an immediate hazard, in which case you should use 911.
Perri, the streets commissioner, noted that when the storm began, the snow was falling faster than it could be dealt with. And, as the temperatures rose and the snow turned to sleet or freezing rain in many locations, the question of icing was foremost.
"There is an issue with icing," Perri told KYW Newsradio about 7am. "The temperatures, however, are up to around 32 degrees so we're hopeful that the icing issues will be minimal."
He pointed out that snowplows were having difficulty negotiating the narrower streets of South Philadelphia because some motorists have parked too far from the curb or too close to the corner. So, if you are parked on a smaller street, make sure your vehicle is not preventing access by the snowplows.
