City of Philadelphia lifts snow emergency

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The City of Philadelphia officially lifted the snow emergency designation at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

For citizens, the end of a Snow Emergency means that cars can once again park on Snow Emergency routes. Cars left on Snow Emergency routes between 8 a.m. through 9 p.m. Wednesday were likely relocated. If your car was moved, call 215-686-SNOW to find it. Do not call 911.

The PPA will honor its $5 per day rate for cars parked in Center City garages prior to 9 p.m. Any cars parked after 9 p.m. are back to regular rates. As citizens return their cars to their normal parking spaces, they are asked not to park too close to corners, as snow plowing and salting equipment require extra room to turn safely. Parking too close to a corner or too far from the curb will hinder efficient snow removal from streets.

For media planning purposes, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will deactivate to a situation room at 10 p.m. All press inquiries should be directed directly to the appropriate City department or, if you're unsure of which City department would handle your inquiry, please email press@phila.gov. The EOC PIO desk number and email is not monitored once the EOC deactivates.

All City of Philadelphia municipal government offices will open during normal business hours on Thursday, March 8. The Courts will also be open. The Philly 311 Call Center will reopen at 8 AM. For all non-emergency tree calls and for updates regarding snowplowing and salting operations, citizens should call 311, not 911. Non-emergency calls to 911 hamper the dispatchers' ability to focus on immediate life-threatening emergencies.

Plowing Efforts

While the snow emergency has been lifted, it's important for citizens to note that snow removal operations are ongoing. While the city's primary roads are generally passable, plows are still being used to widen them. Secondary, tertiary and residential streets will be the main focus of current plowing.

Closures and Cancellations

Wednesday's trash collections were suspended. Residents whose trash is normally picked up Wednesday, will have their trash collected Thursday. Thursday's pickups will be made Friday; Friday's pickups will be made Saturday.

School District of Philadelphia schools and Philadelphia Archdiocese Schools will open tomorrow, Thursday, March 8 on a 2hr delay. Philadelphia International Airport has resumed normal operations. However, there are numerous delays and cancelations, so travelers should check with their airline, or go to PHL.org, or call 1-800-PHL-GATE

Shoveling Snow

Property owners are required to clear a three (3) foot path in front of their property, including curb cuts, within six (6) hours of the end of the storm. Residents should not shovel or toss snow onto city streets. It is against the law to do this.

Fire Hydrants and Storm Drains

City officials ask residents to clear snow and ice from fire hydrants so that firefighters can hook up hoses quickly in the event of a fire. In addition, please clear snow and ice away from storm drains on your block to allow melting snow to flow directly down the drains. This will help to prevent icy road conditions. With the weather outlook of temperatures in the 40's in the days following the storm, clearing snow and ice away from the drains is even more important as conditions will be higher for flooding when large amounts of snow melt quickly.

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