By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – The City of Omaha announced changes to its snow removal procedures this morning at a media conference.
Scott McIntyre is Street Maintenance Engineer for Omaha Public Works. He says the City will try to give people adequate notice when they declare a snow emergency so individuals have time to get out and move their cars. Citizens should park on the even side of the street on even dates and on the odd side of the street on odd dates. McIntyre says this allows the City to plow both sides of the street. He says the other big change relates to individuals and businesses that push snow into the street. McIntyre says in the past the City, "didn't have the authority to deal with those situations where people, in the process of clearing a parking lot or a driveway, actually created a hazardous situation for the traveling public. Now we can go back to those areas, remove that snow that was illegally placed in the street and assess that cost back to the responsible party."
To sign up for real-time updates on winter weather conditions, the City has a Twitter feed which may be accessed at www.twitter.com/omahapublicwrks.