Durango street crews are scheduled to remove snow from the downtown area starting Friday at midnight, and the city is warning people to move their cars off the street so they don’t get towed overnight.
Snow removal will occur in the Central Business District, spanning from Fifth Street to 13th Street between Narrow Gauge Avenue and East Third Avenue, a city news release says.
Plowing starts at midnight and is expected to be finished by 7 a.m.
Vehicles left on the street in the snow removal zone will be towed at the owner’s expense, per the release.
The city encourages people to utilize late- and overnight parking at the Durango Transit Center at 250 West Eighth St. Parking is free between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. at that location.
Winter has only just arrived, but Durango Public Works Operations Manager Joey Medina said in an email to The Durango Herald street crews have already plowed 1,721 miles of snow collectively over 191 combined operational hours.
The city struggled to recruit snowplow operators with commercial drivers licenses last year, but the Streets Division has doubled its staff since then. Fourteen snowplow drivers are working the streets this winter, Medina said.
“During snow events, staff will cover 7 plow zone areas throughout the city working alternating 12 hr shifts to provide 24 service until the conclusion of the snow event,” he said in the email.
When snow is removed by street crews, it is taken to the city’s snow dump site at the Durango Tech Center in west Durango, he said.
According to the National Weather Service, street crews have a 50% chance of being met with light snow as they work through the early morning. Less than half an inch of accumulated snow is forecast.
Late-night low temperatures of 23 degrees and inconsistent westward winds of 5 to 10 mph predicted in the NWS’ daily online forecast might be more bothersome than the snow itself.
On Friday, snow showers could resume after 11 a.m. According to weather service forecasts, another 1 to 2 inches of accumulated snow is possible.
cburney@durangoherald.com
