JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop and the Office of Emergency Management, in coordination with the Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA) and the Department of Public Works (DPW), are rolling out a new “snow team” and winter storm prep plan in advance of the first winter storm of the season, which current forecasts estimate could deliver three to eight inches of snow Saturday into Sunday.
While this winter has been one of the mildest on record, the Jersey City Department of Public Works and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority have been planning for snow since August in an effort to streamline and improve operations citywide.
New Salt Storage Site: Added at 13th and Monmouth Street to service the Heights and parts of downtown. The other two existing salt storage sites are at the DPW/JCIA compound at 13-15 Linden Avenue East and atPacific Avenue & Merseles Street under the Turnpike Extension. In total, through the added site and improvements at the existing site, the city has significantly increased its salt storage capacity to a total of 5,750 tons. Depending on their routes, spreaders will use the closest salt storage location to reload and expedite their return to the streets.
Snow Command Center: The city’s new snow command center, located at the DPW/JCIA complex, is equipped with three large monitors that include CCTV camera footage from throughout the city, providing supervisors the ability to monitor the snow removal process from one central location. Snow captains are assigned to each area of the city and plows and spreaders and supervisors will track the snow routes and truck assignments.
New Snow Removal Routes: For the first time, the city has developed a comprehensive citywide snow route map that divides the city’s 600 streets into 44 sectors and 21 main routes, with each route taking approximately one hour to complete.
The city includes a number of changes ahead of this winter that include:
Increased Equipment: By combining resources between the DPW and the JCIA, as well as the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority and the Jersey City Parking Division, the city increased its equipment by more than 50 percent from 64 to 99 pieces of equipment.
Snow Removal to Include 100 City locations: In addition to the main routes, the city has also identified 100 city locations, including municipal buildings, parks, orphan bridges and footbridges that will be plowed.
Increased Employees with CDL Licenses: By cross-training employees we are increasing our internal staff that is skilled to operate plows and other heavy equipment, reducing our reliance on outside contractors during significant snow events. Already ten employees have been certified for as CDL drivers, with at least 50 other employees having expressed interest in the training.
As the storm approaches, the Police Department will have additional personnel on duty as needed to handle with storm- related emergencies. Any resident with an emergency is reminded to call 9-11. Any non-emergency calls should be directed to 201-547-5477.
In the event of severe storm, the Resident Response Center will be activated and residents can call 201-547-4900 with storm related concerns.
Following the storm, residents are reminded to NOT shovel snow into the street and should clear sidewalks in front of their property of snow and ice in accordance with municipal ordinance.
Residents are reminded to NOT PARK within 25 feet of an intersection and to not double park. Doing so only hampers the efforts of crews plowing and salting streets. All vehicles parked within 25 feet of an intersection will be ticketed or towed. If possible, residents are asked to not park on main thoroughfares, so plows can remove snow from curb-to-curb.
For additional updates, please visit the city website at www.jerseycitynj.gov or the Official City of Jersey City Facebook page or on Twitter @JerseyCity411.
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