Snow Operations Update - Tuesday, February 4, 8:30am

A full Columbia Public Works road crew has reported at 7:00am this morning to plow 1st and 2nd Priority Routes throughout the day. Snowfall is predicted to be heaviest from 12:00pm until 8:00pm today, with snow continuing and tapering off overnight and into Wednesday morning. Accumulation is expected to be between 4"-8", and heavy traffic on the roadways during the afternoon and evening hours will significantly slow progress of road crews trying to plow priority routes. Customers are urged to avoid travel if at all possible, and to remove any parked vehicles from priority snow routes.

Columbia experienced a similar mid-day accumulation last February, and heavy traffic and abandoned cars blocking roadways prevented crews from efficiently plowing priority routes and traffic was backed up for miles city wide.

The City is asking customers to help crews plow roads quicker by removing cars from priority routes before snow begins this morning. This request comes along with a new city ordinance 14-304 that designates 1st and 2nd priority snow routes as no parking zones when snow accumulates to more than 2 inches on Columbia roadways so that road crews can plow streets as quickly and efficiently as possible. Cars left parked on priority snow routes when snow reaches an accumulation depth of 2" will be issued a citation and may be towed at the owners expense if necessary. Customers can find a map of priority routes at www.comosnow.com.

Abandoned cars blocking lanes of traffic will also be towed at the owners expense if necessary. If a customer is stuck and calling for towing service, they should ask for the price upfront and report any concern of price gouging to the Missouri General Attorney's hotline at 1-800-392-8222.

Customers can get more information and updates on road conditions and the City's snow management efforts at www.comosnow.com and on the Public Works Facebook and Twitter pages.