‘All hands on deck’: Kansas City’s new snow removal plan faces its stiffest test
Just over a year ago, Kansas City Manager Brian Platt rolled out a new plan for handling snowstorms. It added new technology, new trucks, additional drivers, and thousands of tons of salt.
Starting this evening, his plan will get its biggest test as the metropolitan area could see between 6 and 14 inches of snow. Platt said at a Tuesday press conference outside the city’s salt dome that his workforce is ready.
“This could be a significant storm and we’re going to take this very seriously,” Platt said. “We’re ready. We’re in a really good mindset. We’re ready to do what we can to keep our streets clear.”
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the region, with 6 to 14 inches of total snow accumulations possible along with a glaze of ice. The warning is in effect from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Thursday for the Kansas City area as well as portions of east-central and northeast Kansas and most of Missouri.
The heavy snow could create “very difficult to impossible” travel conditions, according to the weather service. The Missouri Department of Transportation has urged people to stay off the roads if possible.
To help snowplows navigate the roads, the city is asking that residents park off-street if they can. If that’s not possible, they are asked to park on either the north or west sides of their neighborhood streets.
Platt said residents will have free access to downtown city parking garages beginning at 3 p.m. Tuesday to 3 p.m. Thursday so they can get their cars off the street. It will prevent cars from being buried in snow and help plows work more efficiently, he said.
Free parking for 96 hours will be available in the following garages using the QR code on the city’s website:
- Ed Wolf Garage 1100 Oak St.
- JE Dunn Garage 1100 Cherry St. Auditorium
- Plaza Garage 1220 Wyandotte St.
- West Bottoms Garage 1601 State Line Rd.
- Arts District Garage 17th Wyandotte (Kauffman Center)
- KC Live! Garage 151 E 13th St. (Under Power & Light)
After scanning the code, you’ll receive a pre-validated parking ticket. Hold onto that ticket; you’ll use it to get out later.
As part of preparation, the city canceled all trash, recycling and bulky item pickup from Tuesday through Friday. Next week, residents who weren’t lucky enough to have a Monday pick-up can put out four bags of trash.
Most city operations were shifted to snow removal, and pre-treating roads, Platt said, leading to the delay of other services.
The revised snow response followed complaints in 2018 when, three days after nearly 6 inches of snow fell, residents said they were unhappy that their streets were still covered.
At the beginning of 2021, the city changed its plan to deploy 50 more trucks and use 100 additional drivers, as well as increasing the amount of salt used.
Staff continued to meet over the summer to prepare for the winter. Kansas City will have at least 370 drivers with collaboration from other city departments, 31 new trucks, 40,000 tons of salt, 20,000 gallons of calcium chloride and 1,200 tons of Ice Ban pre-mixed salt for super cold temperatures, the city announced in the fall.
“We are being much more aggressive than we’ve ever been before,” Platt said. “And we hope that this is going to help keep our streets cleaner and safer with any type of storm.”
The Public Works Department coordinates snow removal across the city, working alongside other departments including Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste and KC Water.
City spokeswoman Maggie Green Green said at the same press conference that all of the snow routes are covered. That’s due in part to the cross training conducted with other city departments. For this storm, it’s “all hands on deck,” she said, with nearly 300 people working Tuesday to pre-treat roads ahead of the storm. Crews will work a 12-hour day or night shift until the snow is cleared, Green said.
This season, each driver has a GPS device in their truck to help map out their route to increase efficiency.
To learn more about the city’s snow plan, visit the city’s website at kcmo.gov/snow. You can view the snowplow activity here at kcmo.gov/snowmap.
The Star’s Bob Cronkleton and Anna Spoerre contributed to this story.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 3:58 PM.
