From the Joint Operations Command Center at Atlanta’s Public Safety Headquartwers, Mayor Kasim Reed on Tuesday said the City has acquired additional equipment to handle “one of the worst storms in a decade.”
Since the snow and ice hit on Sunday night, Reed said the City of Atlanta government has been open and operating on a 24-hour basis to respond to the snow and ice storm and its aftermath. The Mayor expressed his appreciation that residents have heeded the call to put their safety first and remain indoors and off the roads.
“The City of Atlanta is working tirelessly to ensure that the roads are clear of ice and snow and I want to thank our residents for staying off the roads to help facilitate this process,” Reed said. “In one of the worst snow storms in a decade, we have expanded our fleet from 10 to 58 pieces of equipment and have been coordinating seamlessly across City departments and partnering with other jurisdictions to keep our streets safe.”
Reed added, “There are many streets in Atlanta which Georgia’s Department of Transportation would normally maintain and clear of snow and ice, but this is not a normal snow event. The City of Atlanta is now working on clearing streets usually maintained by GDOT such as Peachtree, Piedmont, Ponce and others because our citizens deserve and expect results and they don’t care whose responsibility it is.”
City crews have been focused on clearing priority one routes, such as bridges and roads leading to hospitals, and providing emergency and essential services to residents as needed. The City was aggressively working to clear more major roads and arterial routes in the city throughout the day, and brought in extra equipment from private contractors to ramp up attention to
neighborhood streets, Reed said.
Atlanta’s priority one routes covers 200 centerline miles of roadways including 40 bridges, 6 hospitals, and 16 police precincts. Currently, more than 150 miles of Atlanta’s streets have been cleared with 50 more miles to complete. Public Works crews were entering neighborhoods and clearing side streets Tuesday evening.
In conjunction with completing priority routes, crews will continue to canvass designated areas and respond to dispatched calls received from police and other emergency personnel as well as reports from citizens. For reporting of ice or hazardous roadway conditions, please call 404-853-3200.
The Department of Public Works has started clearing and sanding sidewalks in downtown, Midtown, Buckhead and the central business district. Crews will be canvassing areas and checking pedestrian access as the roads are being cleared.
In addition to clearing the streets, Reed announced that the city partnered with Greyhound and other agencies to provide meals to approximately 150 stranded passengers at the bus terminal in downtown Atlanta. Greyhound will assist stranded passengers with hotel accommodations if needed. Reed thanked Emory University, the United Way, TGIF, the faith-based community and others for their assistance in providing aid to the passengers.
On Sunday evening, Reed joined Governor Sonny Perdue in calling for a state of emergency in the City of Atlanta. Since Sunday, Reed and his senior staff have monitored weather, traffic and police, fire-rescue and public works operations at the City of Atlanta’s Joint Operations Command Center, which opened at 7 p.m. Sunday and will remain in service for 24-hours per day through the duration of this weather event.
Due to inclement weather, solid waste collections will be delayed. “We will begin collection of routes as road conditions improve,” Reed said. “We expect to begin garbage and recycling collection on Wednesday Jan. 12, and work through Saturday Jan. 15 to ensure citywide collection is completed. Collection of yard trimmings is delayed until further notice. All route collections are dependent upon weather and accessibility.
“We ask our customers to exercise patience as we work diligently to serve them,” Reed said.
The City of Atlanta is asking residents, if possible, to not park on the following main thoroughfares to assist with plowing operations: 14th Street, 17thStreet, International Boulevard, Marietta Boulevard, Marietta Street, Martin Luther King Drive, Northside Drive, Moreland Avenue, Peachtree Road, Peters Street, Piedmont Road, Roswell Road, Spring Street, West Peachtree Street, Whitehall Street and Williams Street.