Kansas City shares improved snow removal plan ahead of holiday winter storm
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Winter storm hits Kansas City
A winter storm hit Kansas City on Thursday, Dec. 22, bringing bitter cold temperatures, freezing drizzle and snow. Blizzard-like conditions are expected to make travel treacherous for a few days. Here’s the latest:
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Crews will treat roads Wednesday in Kansas City as part of an upgraded snow removal plan to prepare for a winter storm expected to bring several inches of snow, strong winds and frigid temperatures to the region.
The city said crews will start pretreating roads Wednesday morning, using a more aggressive strategy compared to previous years with salt, brine and ice ban, a natural liquid deicer, all used 24 hours or more before the storm arrives.
Before, during and after each storm, hundreds of drivers will work in 12 hours shifts to prevent and remove snow. The city has a fleet of 250 snow removal vehicles and a stockpile of 40,000 tons of salt for the year to be used on 103 residential and major roadways.
Upgrades to the snow removal plan include curb-to-curb plowing on all streets, compared to previous years when one lane of travel would be cleared. Multi-lane arterial roads will be plowed with multiple trucks working in tandem to clear the street on the first pass.
The city has also expanded its snow removal team by 100 drivers by assigning available employees in all departments to snow operations during a winter storm. Suspending trash and recycling services during storms will also allow those drivers to help with snow removal and reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
Existing vehicles were also retrofitted to become plows, which helped add 50 new plows to the fleet, and new technology will be used to track the exact location of plows, manage routes and monitor progress.
Drivers should be cautious on the roads and around plows, allow more time to travel and park off-street when possible. To allow crews to clear a residential street faster, cars should only park on one side of the road.
The city will be offering free parking at select garages between Wednesday afternoon and Monday morning to reduce the number of cars parked on city streets while snow plows are operating.
From 4 p.m. Wednesday through 8 a.m. Monday, free parking will be available at Auditorium Plaza Parking Garage at 1220 Wyandotte Street, West Bottoms Garage at 1601 State Line Road, Ed Wolf Garage at 1120 Oak Street and KC Live at 151 East 13th Street. When drivers enter the garage, they should use the QR code at the gate to receive a validated parking ticket.
This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 9:07 AM.
