The City of Buffalo is preparing for the first significant snowfall of the year as the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the city starting Christmas Eve.
The storm could bring up to one foot of snow over a two-day period. At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the city is prepared to handle whatever Mother Nature delivers.
“The city’s snow fighting crew consists of nearly 70 truck drivers and equipment managers,” he said. “They will work to clear more than 800 miles of city roadways. The winter fleet consists of nearly 100 pieces of equipment, and the city has approximately 3,500 tons of salt to help us clear our city streets.”
Along with the snow, residents who park on city streets overnight will have to navigate the alternate 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. street parking zones. The parking restrictions were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in order for plows to get down some of the narrower streets, the parking restrictions will have to go back in effect. Brown is asking city residents to sign up for the city’s parking alert text system so they can be notified when the restrictions begin.
“In 24-hours they will get an alert or they will get a phone call from the city, alerting them that they have to move their car so that we can plow in that area,” he said. “So far, it has worked very successfully, and it has given literally thousands of people in our city the opportunity to park conveniently while they are home working or they are off from work.”
Residents can enroll in the parking alert program by texting JOIN PARKINGUPDATES to 30890.
