The City of Spokane is declaring a new Stage 2 Snow Emergency today, Dec. 2, which means crews will work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until they complete a full City plow that includes all residential areas.
Within 12 hours—or by 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2—citizens must move their cars so they are parked on the even side of the street within the residential area.  Parking is restricted in the downtown between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. to facilitate plowing there.  And no parked cars are allowed on arterials or STA fixed bus routes.
Last night’s rain and heavy snow mix converted snow-packed secondary arterials and residential streets into a slushy mess with deep ruts. The City’s truck plows are having a difficult time moving the heavy material so the City will need to rely more on graders.  The City has 10 graders in its fleet and is calling in a dozen private contractors with graders to help with the effort.
They also are looking into renting graders.Street Department officials hope they will be able to use the graders to do an initial cut down the center of the streets and use truck plows to move the material to the side of the road. The full City plow likely will take longer than usual because of the conditions and needed response. Officials also warned that the berms left at the end of driveways would be heavy and difficult to move, especially as temperatures drop as they are expected to over the weekend.
“In less than two weeks, we have seen a full array of changing conditions from severe arctic cold to heavy snow to rain, which is challenging crews and citizens alike,” says Mayor Mary Verner.  “We are working hard to keep the City moving, but we are asking for citizens’ patience as we address new and changing conditions.”

Via e-mail from the city of Spokane