Blizzard 2016: Update from Mayor Silberberg

PHOTO: Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg

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ALEXANDRIA, VA --The following is an update from Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg

• Residential streets are 80 percent passable for emergency vehicles, as of Tuesday night.
• The goal is to be at 100 percent passable for emergency vehicles by Wednesday morning.
• When the city government says a street is “passable,” it means that an emergency vehicle can get through. It does not mean “clearing curb to curb.”
• Snow plow crews will be back to plow even more.

Dear Friends,

This continues to be a time to stay safe. Please take great care as we dig out. It is inspiring to see so many citizens stepping up and helping each other. Thank you, one and all!

I know that our public safety employees have been helping in myriad ways. Many thanks to all of them for helping us dig out! Sheriff Lawhorne helped a lady who was scheduled for surgery. There are so many stories of city staff helping our citizens, countless stories of neighbors helping neighbors and strangers helping those in need.
In the aftermath of this historic storm, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Alexandria continue to be under states of emergency.

It has been trying at times, but we are pulling through. We continue to ask for some patience as we dig out from this historic Level 3 storm. The city received 50% more snow in about 36 hours than it usually receives in an entire year. You may want to check out the mountain of snow at the Victory Center parking lot. This is only one part of the snow we have hauled away from our streets.

Please remember that a snow customer service number has been established. If you need help, please call 703-746-HELP (703-746-4357). If you have an emergency, please call 911.

Take great care
The roads are still treacherous. Please watch for black ice on the roads and watch for ice patches that form on the sidewalks over night. Drivers need to use great caution and expect delays, as roads have narrowed, and sight lines are difficult. Please slow down.

The City urges everyone to please stay off the roads if that is possible in order to allow the snow plow crews to work safely and efficiently.

City government will open at 10 a.m. Wednesday
- Please check the web site for details.
- Trash, refuse, recycling, yard waste, and Christmas tree pickup will not take place this week. Normal service will resume on Monday, February 1st.

No school on Wednesday
- ACPS has announced that there will be no school on Wednesday.

Plowing continues @ 24/7 pace!
Please know that our snow plow crews are continuing to work 24/7 and are attacking the snow and ice on residential streets all over the city as fast as possible. Residential streets are our main focus and are now 80% passable for emergency vehicles, as of 7:30 pm tonight. Passable means that there is only one lane, and it has been made passable enough for emergency vehicles. The crews will once again be working through the night.

If you are tracking this...As of 7:30 pm Tuesday night, 80 percent of the residential streets were now passable for emergency vehicles. Monday morning, we were at 20 percent This morning, we were at 60 percent. Our goal is to be at 100 percent passable on Wednesday morning. We will have an update on that percentage in the morning.

A few streets are very narrow and have cars parked on each side. Normally, that is fine, but with all the snow, the snow plows cannot make it through safely. Special equipment is needed.

Next steps
The first goal is to make each residential street passable for emergency vehicles, and then we will improve upon this work. So please know that our snow plow crews will come back through and plow even more, improve the sight lines, work on more sidewalks, clear paths around our schools, clear parking lots at the schools, etc.

Many of you have been clearing sidewalks. Huge thanks! This is a significant help to our city, and it is an important safety issue of course for our pedestrians.

If you would like information about specific streets, please see: http://apps.alexandriava.gov/SnowReport/ to get the latest updates.

Friendly reminder: Things we can all do to help
- If you do not need to be out on the road, please help our snow plow crews and stay off the roads.
- When you clear your car, please remember to clear the roof.
- Please help us by clearing your sidewalk.
- Please clear the snow away from the fire hydrant.
- If your storm drain is blocked by snow, please clear the area in front of the drain.

Watch for ice and snow falling from the rooftops
I urge all of our citizens to be aware of snow and ice that are falling from the rooftops. This is a serious concern for us all.

Ice melts each day and may refreeze each night
Please be aware that everything may refreeze each evening.

Please check on your elderly neighbors
Please continue to check on your elderly neighbors.

Thanks to all!
My heartfelt thanks to all those who are driving those snow plows. We are moving out a massive amount of snow each day. I continue to be proud of our dedicated snow plow crews, our sidewalk crews, and our entire staff to ensure our safety. Many are working without much sleep.

Personal thanks again to our City Manager, Mark Jinks, as well as Yon Lambert, the city’s Director of Transportation & Environmental Services, for leading the crews. My heartfelt thanks to each person on our snow clearing team and to all our staff and our first responders in law enforcement, the fire department, and EMS. Once again, we all pray that they will stay safe, too.

Information about city services can be found on the city’s site,www.alexandriava.gov . Please continue to check the site for any updates. You can also sign up for E-alerts through the city’s site.

Let’s continue to stay safe! Let’s keep at it.

Allison Silberberg

Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia