The City of Champaign Public Works Department is taking steps to clear the area from the effects of the snowstorm, which began on Monday and is expected to last until Wednesday, according to a press release.
Crews began work yesterday, switching from salting to plowing the streets in order to clear the snow that fell.
“We are trying to clear as many streets as possible of yesterday’s precipitation before the heavy snowfall starts later today,” said Dennis Schmidt, Public Works Director in a press release.
Once the snow starts to fall today, the primary streets will be plowed according to the order in the City’s Snow and Ice Control Plan, Schmidt said in the press release.
Primary streets include the bus routes, hospital routes and school streets, according to the press release. Furthermore, primary streets are designed so that majority of the residents are at least three blocks from a primary route.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Currently, Emergency Snow Routes have not been activated, but the Public Works Department has said, in the press release, that any car in the right-of-way will be towed to a designated parking lot.
In order to help the street clearing efforts, the Public Works staff asks the public to:
- Avoid parking cars on City streets, if possible. If not, then at least avoid parking on primary streets
- Do not plow or blow snow onto the streets or a median from a private property. Adding more snow on the streets creates more work for the trucks and snow on the medians can melt create icy spots on the roads when it flows out.
- Stay inside whenever possible and drive carefully by planning ahead and allowing extra time to get to places.
- Monitor the local media or call the Public Works Operations office at 403-4770 for updated weather information
While the city continues to clear the road, Champaign is reporting limited staffing for city services on Wednesday. Though city facilities will remain open during regular business hours tomorrow, residents should anticipate limited number of personnel to provide assistance. All emergency services, however, will remain fully staffed and Champaign will continue to respond to emergency calls for service accordingly.
