Mayor Nutter: Snow Emergency at 6 p.m. — “Move Your Car!”

Mayor Nutter held a press conference this afternoon on the impending Big Snow (aka the Citywide Panic Attack).

Here’s what you need to know:

• The city will be declaring a snow emergency at 6 p.m. today. That’s important because …
• If your car is parked on a snow emergency route (here’s a map), you must move it before 6 p.m. Or else. “If you’re on a snow emergency route, move your car!” Nutter warned at the press conference. “We’re going to move it and tow it.” If you’re a bad, bad person and fail to relocate your vehicle and it then gets towed, call 215-686-SNOW to find out where it was taken.
• The Philadelphia Parking Authority is offering a discounted rate in some Center City garages starting at 6 p.m. tonight and lasting until the snow emergency is lifted. Nutter said it will be a flat, 24-hour rate of $5.
• Trash and recycling collections are cancelled Tuesday. Nutter said the city will be converting trash trucks for plowing operations. The city is also dismissing all “non-essential” workers at 2 p.m. today.
• “Code blue” went into effect Sunday night. City officials are urging those who see a homeless person on the streets to call 215-232-1984.
• City officials are also urging those who see a dog or other pet outside to call the Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia at 267-385-3800.
• With the current snowfall projections, Nutter said his goal is to treat and plow all residential streets within 48 to 72 hours after the snow stops falling. But it won’t be perfect, he said, due to the projected length of the storm. “Just because you don’t see blacktop on your street, doesn’t mean that we haven’t been there.” (For more on the city’s snow plowing procedures, read our interview with Streets Commissioner Davie Perri.)
• Nutter stressed that the city is ready for the Big Snow. There will be 375 pieces of equipment on the streets and 800 people involved in the cleanup. “This is an all-hands-on-deck activity,” he said.
• And, finally, Nutter has advice for getting through the pearly gates: “You’ll get points in heaven if you clear a senior’s sidewalk and do not charge them.”

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