[Durham INC] Durham Preparing for Winter Weather; Opening Delayed Tomorrow

[PublicAffairs]

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CITY OF DURHAM
Office of Public Affairs
101 City Hall Plaza
Durham, NC 27701

News Release


News Media Contact:
Amy Blalock
Sr. Public Affairs Specialist
(919) 560-4123 x 11253
(919) 475-7735 (cell)
Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov<mailto:Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov>
http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC
http://YouTube.com/CityofDurhamNC


For Immediate Release: February 25, 2015



Share!  Durham announces delayed City Hall opening Thurs., Feb. 26; http://bit.ly/1weIiXz



City of Durham Preparing for Winter Weather
Opening of City Hall Delayed Until 11 a.m. Tomorrow

DURHAM, N.C. - The City of Durham is busy preparing to keep operations running smoothly ahead of tonight's predicted winter weather. If weather and road conditions worsen and operational decisions are made accordingly, residents and City employees are encouraged to stay up-to-date on information about City operational hours, program or service changes, trash collection delays, and more by:
·         Visiting http://www.DurhamNC.gov
·         Liking http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
·         Following http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC
·         Contacting Durham One Call at (919) 560-1200
·         Watching Durham Television Network (Time Warner Cable channel 8, 97-5 and AT&T U-verse channel 99)

On Thursday, February 26, the opening of City Hall and non-emergency City operations will be delayed until 11 a.m.

A decision on the collection of curbside trash and recycling will be made early tomorrow morning after an assessment of street conditions, and if the landfill that accepts the City's trash will be open. Residents are asked to leave their carts on their curb by 7 a.m. on their scheduled collection day in the event collections can proceed.

If collections must be suspended due to road conditions tomorrow morning, residents should leave their carts at the curb. If the department is unable to collect trash and recycling tomorrow, then Wednesday customers will receive collection on Friday, and Thursday customers will receive collection on Saturday if road conditions permit. Since collections for this week will continue to focus on trash and recycling, yard waste and bulky items collections remain suspended for all customers until next week on their regularly scheduled collection day.

The Waste Disposal and Recycling Center (Transfer Station) and the Household Hazardous Waste Center will open at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Any questions or concerns regarding solid waste collection schedule changes should be directed to Durham One Call at (919) 560-1200.

The City's Public Works Department will have 30 trucks salting and sanding city streets overnight and tomorrow, and will operate in 12-hour shifts until City crews get all primary and secondary roads, bridges, and emergency routes cleared. The department is also coordinating with the local NCDOT maintenance office to ensure that the state-maintained roads within the city limits are passable throughout this weather event. The City's plan of action for clearing or reducing hazards on city streets is prioritized in the following order:
·         Bridges and overpasses throughout the city.
·         Major arterial streets within the city.
·         Streets to essential health facilities, police and fire stations, and critical community facilities.
·         Routes to two City fuel sites.
·         Streets within the central business district.
·         Clear access to Durham Public Schools.
·         All residential areas with priority initially to passage of emergency vehicles and then to all traffic.

Residents and property owners are responsible for snow and ice removal in their driveways, apartment access roads, parking lots and sidewalks. The clearing of private streets is the responsibility of the homeowners within that subdivision. In order to facilitate snow and ice removal on city streets, residents can help by adhering to the following tips:
·         Stay off the roads if at all possible.
·         Drive very slowly and carefully. If involved in a property damage wreck, motorists should pull off the road to prevent additional accidents and remember that it may take some additional time for an officer to respond to the accident due to icy road conditions.
·         If at all possible, park cars off the street or highway to let salt-and-sand spreaders pass with ease.
·         Treat intersections with malfunctioning traffic lights as four-way stops and proceed with caution.

Due to inclement weather, Durham Parks and Recreation's (DPR) facilities and recreation centers will close to the public today at 5 p.m. All evening programs, events, rentals, and activities including after school are canceled. Weather permitting, DPR recreation centers and facilities will open tomorrow at 11 a.m. For weather-related updates regarding Durham Parks and Recreation facilities and operating hours, call the DPR weather line at (919) 560-4636. Updates will also be available at http://www.DPRPlayMore.org and http://Facebook.com/DurhamParksandRecreation<http://www.facebook.com/DurhamParksandRecreation>.

Residents are also reminded to be careful of any downed power lines and should report them to Duke Energy Carolinas at 800-POWERON or 800-769-3766 (English), or 866-4APAGON or 866-427-2466 (Español). Residents are also asked to use alternative heating sources carefully in the event of a power outage.

To report downed trees on City streets, residents should contact the Durham Emergency Communications Center non-emergency line at (919) 560-4600 unless the downed tree presents an immediate, life-threatening hazard; then call 9-1-1.

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