Saturday Morning Winter Storm Update from the City Manager

From Suzanne Ludlow, City Manager of Takoma Park

Saturday, January 23, 2016, 8:00 AM

Dear Residents,

This morning, I woke up to thunder (!) and 14 inches of snow on my front porch. I am so glad that our area made it through the night with no power outages.

The most important message I want to convey this morning is PLEASE STAY OFF THE ROADS! It is nearly impossible to drive anywhere and the snowplows need to do their work.

In my morning conference call with public works and police staff, I learned that our crews were able to plow all night long with six trucks. Unfortunately, as soon as they would plow, the wind drifted the snow across the road again. Our new shift reported in at 6:00 AM and will keep working at it until 6:00 PM tonight. Please help them move quickly by staying out of the roadway if you are out walking, and please don’t let your pets run loose in the streets. Our snowplows cannot stop easily.

Police calls last night were limited to stranded drivers. And, stranded cars mean the snowplows can’t clear that section of roadway.

Police officers regularly checked locations homeless persons often occupy. One homeless person was found who refused to go to a shelter, so the officers frequently checked on her through the night.

Emergency Manager Ron Hardy reported that he received a call from Montgomery County emergency officials this morning checking to see if we needed anything, but we are in good shape for now.

The heavier snow is projected to continue until about 1:00 PM, and then snow should taper off by about 7:00 PM. I’ll send out an update in early afternoon.

Stay warm and enjoy your snow day!

Suzanne Ludlow
City Manager
Email: SuzanneL@takomaparkmd.gov
Phone: 301-891-7229