A winter storm is moving into the region with snowfall expected from Thursday afternoon to Friday night. More snow and freezing temps are in store for the weekend.
“If you don’t need to travel this weekend, it is recommended to stay off of the roads in this upcoming storm,” said David Abbas, Bend’s Transportation & Mobility Director. “Thanks for your help and readiness to get through this upcoming winter storm together as a community. Don’t forget to help your neighbors who could use a hand, too.”
With snow in the forecast, everyone should prepare for winter. During winter operations, the City prioritizes the highest-use streets that accommodate the most drivers and access hospitals, major employment areas, schools and transit routes. Priority routes receive de-icing, sanding, and plowing first. Get plowing information and maps here.
During extreme storms, it may be necessary to stay focused on clearing priority routes, which could mean postponing lower priority routes until the higher priority routes are safe and open to traffic. Lower-use streets—the local residential streets—are a lower priority. Contractors are typically called to help plow local residential roads during occasional extreme snow storms. The City will monitor forecasts and road conditions to determine whether to call out contractors. Streets crews will support and collaborate with Police and Fire to provide access for emergency services.
The City asks for the community’s help in advance of the winter storm by having all vehicles, trailers, garbage cans, etc., off of the street to help with snow plowing efforts. It is also helpful when shoveling sidewalks to place the snow on the house side of the sidewalk, not back into the street.
The City’s plan addresses how to deal with certain problematic streets where on-street parking during particularly heavy snowfall has contributed to increasingly narrow and sometimes impassable roads. These are called “emergency snow zones.” During declared snow emergencies, the City will ask that “emergency snow zone” marked streets be cleared of parked cars, to help us plow from curb to curb. Emergency snow zones are:
- Wall Street (Portland Avenue to Colorado Avenue)
- Bond Street (Wall Street to Colorado Avenue)
- Chandler Avenue (Mt. Washington Drive to Century Drive)
- NE Courtney Drive (27th Street to Conners Avenue)
- NE Conners Avenue (27th Street to Courtney Drive)
- NW Broadway Street (Franklin Avenue / Riverside Boulevard to Colorado Avenue)
- NW Tumalo Avenue (Riverside Boulevard to Broadway Street)
- 17th Street & Troon Avenue (Galveston Avenue to Mt. Washington Drive)
