Mayor says every Kansas City street is a priority as snow plows prepare for winter storm
With a winter storm warning in effect, Kansas Citians could have between five and nine inches of snow dumped in their neighborhoods over the next couple days.
Starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, close to 200 city staff and crews will begin pre-treating roads, city spokeswoman Maggie Green said during a news conference Wednesday. Nearly 300 snow removal vehicles will be out 24 hours a day until the streets are fully cleared.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 Tournament will continue Downtown as planned. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said the city is working with the Downtown Council and T-Mobile Center to get sidewalks and streets cleared quickly.
When the last winter storm swept through three weeks ago, one Kansas Citian told The Star that because the road conditions were so bad in his neighborhood near East 27th Street and Oakley Avenue, he had to miss two days of work, and the pay that came with it.
At the time, as city workers and citizens dug out from beneath as many as nine inches of snow, some residents praised the city’s new snow removal plan, saying their streets were cleared faster than the highways. Others said the city wasn’t doing enough in some neighborhoods.
“There is no strategic under-investment of any part of the city,” Lucas said Wednesday in response. “On the other side there’s no strategic over-investment in any part of the city.”
Are there streets where we can do better in every part of the city? I think absolutely. And I think we continue to try to address that after every storm.”
City officials take public feedback and discuss how to continue improving with each storm, Lucas said, adding that numerous residents reported they hadn’t seen a snowplow in their neighborhood in decades until this year.
Green said the current snow removal program is designed to have at least one driver each shift to cover each plow route in the city. Every street in the city is on a plow route, she added.
If at some point a snowplow still hasn’t come through, Lucas encouraged Kansas Citians to contact the city online to report it.
Beginning this evening, the city is also asking drivers to avoid parking on streetcar routes or streets. If that’s not possible, those on north-south streets are asked to park on the west side while those on east-west streets are asked to park on the north side to give plows as much room as possible to work.
Also as part of the snow removal program, city trash removal will be pushed back so workers can focus on plowing.
The city’s extreme weather plan for those experiencing houselessness — activated when the daytime high does not exceed 32 degrees or when the overnight low is colder than 20 degrees — will remain in place through the weekend, Green said.
The city has an online database that tracks open beds at several metro shelters. Free bus transportation to shelters is also available through Ride KC when the plan is activated. If shelters are full, the city has said they will temporarily open overflow locations as needed.
Green said come this weekend, they will have used the overflow more than 25 times.
The Star’s Aarón Torres contributed.
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 5:17 PM.
