Kansas City releases plans for upcoming snowstorm

Kansas City is prepared for a significant snowstorm expected to impact the area from Saturday evening through Sunday. Crews began city-wide pre-treatment of roads at 7:00 am on Friday, ensuring safe travel as snow accumulates. Once the storm arrives, the City’s Snow Team will transition to 24/7 plowing and ice treatment operations, prepared to handle 15 to 18 inches of snow.

The Snow Team, made up of over 400 trained employees from multiple City departments, is equipped to cover 103 plow routes spanning 6,400 lane miles. With more than 300 trucks available, the team is committed to clearing roads quickly and efficiently. Salt domes are fully stocked with 40,000 tons of salt, 8,000 tons of Ice Ban, and 36,000 gallons of liquid magnesium chloride, with an additional 10,000 tons in reserve to ensure resources remain plentiful throughout the storm.

Due to the need for drivers to focus on treating roads during the snowstorm, trash and recycling services will experience delays starting Monday. Additionally, bulky item pickup appointments scheduled for January 6, and 7 are canceled and will need to be rescheduled. Residents with appointments should use the myKCMO app to reschedule.

Kansas City snow removal plan:  

• Primary and residential streets are plowed 24 hours per day until the roads are clear.
• All residential streets are plowed curb to curb instead of a “single pass” as was the past practice.
• Aggressive pre-treating of all roads before storms.
• New blue salt, called “Ice Ban” (magnesium chloride), works better at lower temperatures than standard calcium chloride and is less harmful to the environment.
• Tandem plowing is used on wide, multi-lane, arterial streets with multiple trucks to efficiently clear streets on the first pass.
• Trash and recycling services are suspended during big storms to redirect resources to the Snow Team and reduce the number of other vehicles on the road.
• Plow tracking technology and digital plow route management software ensures accountability, efficiency, and safety for all drivers.
• Added 50 trucks and 100 drivers to the fleet in the first year of the new plan with more drivers and trucks added each year.

Snow Treatment Technologies: 

The state-of-the-art Snow Command Center is equipped with custom routing technology and staffed 24 hours per day during winter weather to provide snowplow driver support throughout each shift. This is made possible through our award-winning partnership with Rubicon Technologies. Every snow removal driver in the city uses a tablet equipped with Rubicon’s snow removal software that shows their entire route, including street priority and recent plow activity.

Snow Command supervises operations and resident requests during snowstorms, with technology to help the Snow Team address slick spots reported through the myKCMO app during post snowfall cleanup. These reports must be made 24 hours after the weather event.

For more information on Kansas City’s snow plan, visit KCMO.gov/snow. Learn how to be prepared and use the Snowplow Map to track plows during a snow event.
Be Prepared:

Winter storms may housebound our residents, knock out the power, or worse, strand individuals in our vehicles. Stay prepared with an emergency kit for the car, work, and home to avoid anxiety, discomfort, and even danger.

• Keep a thin water flow from faucets along exterior walls at sub 32 degrees
• Disconnect external hoses
• Identify water shut-off valve in case of emergency

Zero KC Cold Weather Plan:

For the third year in a row, the City is funding a network of low barrier emergency shelters for the unhoused community that will be operational during the entirety of this event. There are nine locations across the metro, with a total of 400 city funded beds. Anyone who wants to access services should begin at the Navigation Center, which is located at Hope Faith Homelessness Assistance Campus (705 Virginia Ave.). The Navigation Center determines and triages individuals to specific locations for services that will help achieve housing goals. These services can include inpatient treatment, vital document assistance, low-income housing, transitional living, and other services.Volunteers Needed for Snow Angels Program:

Kansas City is excited to launch the “Snow Angels” program, and individuals are encouraged to sign up! The program utilizes volunteers to give essential assistance to others who may be unable to clear their driveway and sidewalks. Sign up today!