[Durham INC] City of Durham Preparing for Winter Weather

[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: January 21, 2016



Share!  #Durham preps for predicted wintry mix to keep City operations running smoothly http://bit.ly/1nAzIof


City of Durham Preparing for Tomorrow's Winter Weather

DURHAM, N.C. - The City of Durham is busy preparing to keep operations running smoothly ahead of tomorrow'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 and service changes, trash and recycling collection delays, and more through the following ways:
·         http://DurhamNC.gov
·         http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC
·         http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC
·         Durham One Call<http://durhamnc.gov/1439/Durham-One-Call> at (919) 560-1200
·         Durham Television Network<http://durhamnc.gov/1104/Durham-Television-Network> (Time Warner Cable channel 8 and AT&T U-verse channel 99)

The City's Public Works Department<http://durhamnc.gov/506/Public-Works> has 22 trucks ready for salting and sanding city streets and will operate in 12-hour shifts until 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 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.

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.

The City's General Services Department Urban Forestry Division<http://durhamnc.gov/799/Urban-Forestry> and Landscape Services Division<http://durhamnc.gov/813/Landscape-Services> will be on-call during this event to help remove downed trees on City streets and public rights-of-way. Today, crews are prepping all equipment, such as chainsaws, bucket trucks, and knuckle loaders as well as pre-treating sidewalks and primary walkways downtown. The City's Public Works Department<http://durhamnc.gov/506/Public-Works>, Solid Waste Management Department<http://durhamnc.gov/832/Solid-Waste-Management> and Neighborhood Improvement Services Department<http://durhamnc.gov/570/Neighborhood-Improvement-Services> will support Urban Forestry's efforts to help remove larger debris as needed.

To report downed trees on City-maintained streets, residents should contact the Durham Emergency Communications Center non-emergency line<http://durhamnc.gov/437/Non-Emergency-Number> at (919) 560-4600 unless the downed tree presents an immediate, life-threatening hazard; then call 9-1-1. Residents and property owners are responsible for downed tree removal on private property, driveways, apartment access roads, parking lots, and sidewalks.

Residents are urged to not touch downed trees or branches that are tangled up with power lines. Power outages and any downed power lines should be reported directly to Duke Energy Carolinas<http://www.duke-energy.com/north-carolina/outages.asp> at 1-800-POWERON or 1-800-769-3766 (English), or 1-800-4APAGON or 1-800-427-2466 (Español).

For weather-related updates for any Durham Parks and Recreation (DPR) facilities, recreation centers or special events, call the DPR weather line at (919) 560-4636 and select option #9. Updates will also be available on DPR's website<http://www.dprplaymore.org/>, on Facebook<http://facebook.com/DurhamParksandRecreation>, and on Twitter<http://twitter.com/dprplaymore>.

To find out about GoDurham service disruptions, riders should visit the GoDurham website<http://godurhamtransit.org/weather> or call (919) 485-RIDE (7433) for details.

For information on how to prepare for a disaster, visit the Durham County Emergency Management Department website<http://dconc.gov/government/departments-a-e/emergency-management> and follow Ready Durham on Twitter<http://twitter.com/ReadyDurham> for updates.

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