Snow Update: February 26, 2007

Madison - Operations continue to clear all City of Madison streets. Due to the continued snow today, about half of the City crews have had to be diverted from snow removal and clean-up to salting operations in order to maintain safe driving conditions. Plow crews have been working very long hours all weekend to clear both main thoroughfares and residential streets as quickly as possible. According to the Streets Division, the heavy, wet snow has slowed clean-up efforts. A citywide plowing operation that usually takes about 8-10 hours to complete took about 17 hours to complete on Sunday because of the difficult conditions that plow crews faced. In addition to approximately 90 City trucks, 70 private trucks have been contracted with to assist with the cleanup. The City of Madison includes some 750 miles of streets and 1,700 total lane miles. Residents are urged to be alert for neighbors who may need assistance clearing the heavy, wet snow from driveways or sidewalks. The Senior Home Chore Program is available to assist those in need of assistance. To request assistance from this program, or to volunteer, contact one of the following numbers: • East Madison/Monona Coalition of the Aging, 223-3100 • North/Eastside Senior Coalition 243-5252 • South Madison Coalition of the Elderly 251-8405 • West Madison Senior Coalition 238-7368 "City crews continue to work as quickly as possible to clear this extremely heavy, wet snow," said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. "Please be patient and look out for your neighbors, as we continue to clean up from this major storm. I want to thank all of the City workers and contractors who have been working very long hours to address what has been a very difficult storm to clean up after." The snow emergency remains in effect this evening. Compliance with snow emergency and alternate side parking rules will help plow crews clean streets to the curb more quickly and restore on-street parking as soon as possible. City officials are closely watching the weather forecast for later this week, which could bring significant additional amounts of snow or rain. In either case, the additional precipitation has the potential to cause flooding in some parts of Madison (see attached press release from City Engineering for more information, http://www.cityofmadison.com/news/view.cfm?news_id=286). Residents and businesses with questions or concerns about their street conditions can contact the Streets Division at 246-4532 (East), or 266-4681 (West), or via the Web at www.cityofmadison.com/reportAProblem/. # # # # # George Twigg Communications Director Office of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz (608) 266-4611