As the last flakes of snow fall for this winter event, City of Asheville snow operations continue in full force. The Public works department has 38 plows working to clear snow from our roads and sidewalks. The focus this morning is shifting to our secondary roads or “priority 2 ” and sidewalks. We continue to ask people to utilize the free option of city parking garages instead of on street parking.
The City of Asheville and partnering organizations are still reporting hazard conditions on roads, and caution to only travel if necessary.
All 24-hour services including Police, Fire, Water and Fleet continue to staff up and support our community as needed for this storm event. Any staff in the field are coordinating transportation to shelter as needed.
As the day progresses, staff will decide which suspended services will be able to resume regular operations into Tuesday. Please check back for updates.
Updates: Storm leaves road conditions hazardous, City of Asheville staff continues snow response
Posted: Jan. 16 7 p.m.
Road conditions remain hazardous and will refreeze with temperatures in the teens tonight. Black ice remains a major concern on all roadways. Please limit travel if at all possible. Public Works staff are operating 27 plows and are still working to clear Priority 1 streets.
Several City of Asheville departments continue snow response throughout the city. When encountering someone who is unhoused, staff in the field are coordinating transportation to shelter as needed.
If you encounter City Workers at a down line, please know we have to wait for our utility partners before the line can be addressed.
The phone number for down lines is 1-800-419-6356 or 1-800-452-2777.
Closures and Cancellations for Jan. 17:
- ART bus service – Staff will asses whether service will continue on Jan. 18
- City Sanitation Services – Planning to collect Monday customers on Tuesday; Tuesday on Wednesday; Wednesday on Thursday; and Thursday on Friday.
- Parks and Recreation’s “Fun Day Out” has been canceled and all community centers will remain closed.
- Buncombe County facilities are closed on Monday, including parks and solid waste services.
Update: City Sanitation operations canceled Jan. 17
Posted: Jan. 16. 11 a.m.
Due to winter weather conditions, City Sanitation operations (trash, recycling, brush) are canceled for Monday 1/17.
Trash & recycling collection will operate Tuesday-Friday, and all customers except Central Business District will be serviced one day later than normal. Central Business District customers will stay on their regular Wednesday morning schedule.
Trucks will not drive on icy roads, so some customers may experience additional delays depending on road conditions.
Monday customers will be collected Tuesday; Tuesday on Wednesday; Wednesday on Thursday; and Thursday on Friday.
Brush collection will be limited this week.
Sign up for Sanitation service alerts for schedule changes, cancellations, and delays at ashevillenc.gov/AVLcollects.
UPDATE: Asheville City snow plowing focuses on primary roads, urges people to limit travel.
Posted: Jan. 16 @ 9 a.m.
City of Asheville staff are actively working in snow response mode. All 24-hour services including the Police, Fire and Water Departments are fully staffed and prepared to respond as needed.
Staff working in the field are on the look out for anyone without shelter and will provide them with transportation to services
Public Works is currently focusing on plowing our priority 1 streets. Primary roads have to be the priority for snow removal to ensure they are passable for our emergency responders. Here is a link to the City’s snow removal priority map.
We ask that the community limit travel and stay off of the road during snow events if possible.
With snowplows out on the road and in order to maintain everyone’s safety, we are discouraging people from sledding on the streets.
A reminder that City garages in the Central Business District are now free to the public. The gates will remain up until the completion of the storm
The City asks everyone to limit on-street parking during any snow event! This is extremely helpful to our ability to clear streets more efficiently.
UPDATE: ART bus service suspended and Parks and Rec facilities closed on Sunday Jan. 16. Parking garages open and free to public.
Posted: Jan. 15 @ 6:00 p.m.
- Due to the expected snow, there will be no ART bus service on Sunday, January 16, 2022.
- All City Parks and Recreation community centers will be closed on Sunday, January 15.
During the next few days, some services at parks such as restrooms and parking lots may be unavailable as crews work to reopen facilities. - City garages in the Central Business District are now free to the public. The gates will remain up until the completion of the storm
The City asks everyone to limit on-street parking during any snow event! This is extremely helpful to our ability to clear streets more efficiently.
UPDATE: Parks facilities will close at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 15
Posted: Jan. 14 @ 3:30 p.m.
UPDATE: MLK, Jr. Day of Service event canceled
Posted: Jan. 14 @ 11:20 a.m.
The MLK Jr. Day of Service in Burton Street Community scheduled for Monday, January 17, has been canceled. Keep an eye on Asheville Parks & Recreation website, Facebook page, and Instagram feed for the latest updates.
Snow Preparation
Posted: Jan. 13 @ 3:30 p.m.
Asheville Public Works trucks have already begun pre-treating streets in Asheville with salt brine as the City prepares for oncoming snow.
The National Weather Service has now issued a Winter Storm Watch for the area starting 6pm Saturday. The Weather Service’s website says: “Precipitation may begin as early as Saturday afternoon across parts of the mountains, eventually falling as mostly snow and increasing in coverage and intensity late Saturday night. Widespread black ice should be expected Monday morning, and may be a concern into the middle of the week.”
The Public Works Department continues its proactive approach to this forecast. Pre-treatment of sidewalk areas bordering City property is also taking place. This includes, but is not limited to: City Hall, the Municipal Building housing first responders, Pack Square, Pritchard Park and Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville.
“Our staff is steadily preparing our equipment to begin snow removal operations when needed,” said Public Works Director Greg Shuler. “We have plenty of salt, our staffing levels are in good shape, and our equipment is ready to go.”
Street crews are scheduled to report as the predicted storm moves in Saturday and will be prepping and plowing streets as conditions require. Staffing will continue on a 24-hour basis throughout the storm event.
Please clear the streets so snow plows can get through
The City asks everyone to limit on-street parking during any snow event! This is extremely helpful to our
ability to clear streets more efficiently.
City garages in the Central Business District will be opened to the public free, likely around 5 p.m., depending on when the snow moves in. This is in effort to allow salting and snow plows clear access. Everyone is asked to please ensure their vehicles are off the streets so our teams are able to continually clear roadways of snow build up or other weather related hazards.
For everyone’s safety, please limit travel and stay off the road during snow events if possible. Hazardous travel conditions could continue through Monday.
Clearing Priority One streets first
Once snow starts, City Streets crews will stay on the job around the clock as needed, to remove any accumulating snow, first from our priority one streets, then moving into secondary / neighborhood streets as the priority routes are cleared. Priority one roads are major routes needed for emergency response as well as streets where ART bus routes run. Streets crews will also remove snow on sidewalks in front of City-owned property.
The City’s Snow Mapper shows which roads are priority one.
The City of Asheville maintains approximately 4oo miles of roads, which translates into 805 lane miles. During snow events, Public Works removes snow from 180 centerline miles of priority one streets, 318 centerline miles of priority two streets, which adds up to about 400 miles, including 87 miles of NCDOT-maintained roads.
In case of power outages and downed trees
Duke Energy will provide additional updates once storms move out of the area and damage assessment is underway. See the outage map at www.duke-energy.com/outages.
To receive the most up-to-date information about restoration efforts by enrolling in Outage Alerts. If customers lose power, they can text OUT to 57801, report online, or call 800-419-6356.
Duke Energy warns people to stay away from downed power lines.
If a you encounter a fallen or leaning tree resting on a power line, call Duke Energy Progress at 1-800-419-6356 or 1-800-452-2777.
For a downed tree not involving power lines, blocking a road in the City limits, call Asheville Public Works at 828-259-5852.
Pulling together as a community
We want to encourage everyone in our community to prepare personally and come together to look after their neighbors as well.
If you have regular medical appointments critical to your health, then please make sure you have a snow plan in case travel becomes hazardous. In the event of a medical emergency, call 9-1-1. For information on available resources call 2-1-1.