Mayor Lucas announces snow initiative as Kansas City gets first winter storm of the season

As the first snow of the season moved into the Kansas City area, Mayor Quinton Lucas and Brian Platt, the city manager, announced Kansas City’s new snow preparation plan.

The mayor and city manager addressed media at the Salt Dome located at 5300 Municipal Avenue, in response to this weekend’s bout of winter weather.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory from noon Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday.

According to Mayor Lucas and Platt, the city is well-equipped for winter. City workers began the new initiative at noon to act aggressively before the storm.

The new plan consists of “50 new trucks, 24-hour plowing, tons of salt, and new technology to help us manage this operation,” Platt said.

In preparation for dangerous conditions, the snow plow trucks have GPS to ensure the safety of drivers and to help residents know when they’re able to drive safely on the roads. Residents can read the snow initiative in its entirety on the city’s website, including GPS information for the snow plows.

During the press conference, the Mayor noted that the worry some Kansas Citians may have had regarding some neighborhoods not getting plowed, is a concern he believes has been largely alleviated in recent years.

“A huge change for Kansas City, is the fact that people said they hadn’t had a snow plow go down their street for five, 10 years, and in some cases 20 or 30. We’re seeing a real difference now,” Mayor Lucas said.

According to the National Weather Service, one to three inches of snow is predicted Saturday afternoon through early Sunday, in parts of east central, northeast Kansas, north central, northeast, northwest and west central Missouri.

The city has been preparing for winter since the summer, and is ready to put the plan into action.

“We’re excited, we’ve got our crews and we’ve been practicing and training since the summer to make sure we’re ready for this moment right now,” Platt said.