Philadelphia Declares Snow Emergency For Thursday, Jan 4​

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia will be placed under a snow emergency Thursday, Jan. 4, which means residents need to be aware of various changes throughout the city during the day.

The snow emergency, which goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday morning, means all parked cars must be moved off Snow Emergency routes for plowing.

Citizens who are moving their cars from snow emergency routes should park as far from the corner of the street as possible, as the city said vehicles parked too close to the corner get in the way of turning snow plows.

See the city's snow emergency routes here.

To ease vehicle owners' potential pain, the Philadelphia Parking Authority will not enforce meter and time limit violations after 10 p.m. Wednesday, but it will enforce all snow emergency and safety violations.

Cars left on Snow Emergency routes will be moved to other parking spots. If your car is moved, call 215-686-SNOW to find it. Do not call 911.

The PPA is offering discounted parking in select Center City parking garages starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday through the end of the snow emergency, where drivers can park for just $5 by bringing their ticket and pay at the PPA Management Office in each garage.

The $5 24-hour rate is available at these garages:

• AutoPark at Independence Mall (5th & Market Streets)
• AutoPark at Jefferson (10th & Ludlow Streets)
• Autopark at the Gallery Mall (10th & Filbert Streets)
• Autopark at 8th & Filbert Streets Garage (801 Filbert Street)
• AutoPark at Old City (2nd & Sansom Streets)
• Philadelphia Family Court Garage (1503-11 Arch Street – Going south on 15th Street, enter the garage on the west side just after 15th & Cherry St.)

The city is urging citizens who must travel Thursday to use extreme caution and plan for extra travel time to ensure safety.

SEPTA will be posting real-time updates on any changes to its schedules on its website and its Twitter feed.

The city has also cancelled trash and recycling collection for Thursday. Residents whose collections are done on Thursdays will have to wait until next Thursday, Jan. 11, to have their materials collected. Crews are expected to resume collections on Friday but residents should expect delays.

Due to the New Year’s holiday collections were already one day behind this week, Wednesday's materials will be picked up on Friday and Friday’s materials picked up on Saturday. There will be no collections in driveways for the remainder of the week. Residents should place materials at curbside, in front of their homes, to be picked up.

Streets Department crews will be out in force in advance of the snow, around midnight, to salt primary and secondary roadways. Crews will begin plowing as the snow accumulates and will treat and plow side streets and neighborhood streets as conditions permit.

The Office of Homeless Services is continuing its Code Blue until further notice, as well.

Throughout the Code Blue, Philadelphia’s homeless outreach teams will patrol the streets in greater numbers, urging homeless people to come to local shelters.

People do not need ID to enter Code Blue shelters or cafes from the street, and they can remain indoors throughout the duration of the Code Blue.

If you are concerned about someone who is homeless, please call the Outreach Coordination Center at )215) 232-1984 at any time. Outreach is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. First responders can also transport people to shelter for their own safety.

Citizens should contact the ACCT Philly hotline at (267) 385-3800 if they see a dog or other pet outside during extreme cold.

Residents are encouraged to follow the city's Office of Emergency Management Twitter and Facebook feed throughout the day for updates.

Patch file photo