MANASSAS — Just in time for winter, Manassas added more snow emergency routes to the map.
Residents and business owners along these routes should be aware to move their cars ahead of impending winter weather:
- Clover Hill Road
- Lake Jackson Drive
- Portner Avenue
- Signal Hill Road
- Stonewall Road
- Rolling Road
The new additions join the list of existing snow emergency routes in the city:
- Ashton Avenue
- Center Street (Route 28 downtown)
- Centreville Road (Route 28)
- Church Street (Route 28 downtown)
- Dumfries Road
- Euclid Avenue
- Hastings Drive
- Godwin Drive
- Grant Avenue
- Liberia Avenue
- Mathis Avenue
- Prescott Avenue
- Richmond Avenue
- Wellington Road
The newly outlined routes will provide better access to schools, and to Osbourn High School, the city’s emergency shelter, Deputy City Manager Bryan Foster said.
Snow emergencies are declared for storms that generally bring six or more inches of snow, and that means people who normally park along these streets must move their vehicles.
“This could be a surprise for a lot of people,” said Mayor Harry ‘Hal’ Parrish II.
Foster said the city will notify the affected residents and business owners by mail, as well as post signs along the affected streets.
The City Council also approved new rules governing when residents and business owners should have to shovel their walkways. They’ll now have 24 hours to clear the walks if six or fewer inches of snow falls. 48 hours in cases of more than six inches of snowfall.
City council members said they’ve received complaints about residents who do not clear their walks after snow storms. Foster said it’s up to the city’s code enforcement team to uphold the rules when it comes to the shoveling rules.
Snow-covered sidewalks can also be a hindrance to school children and drivers.
“We want residents to know that we have a lot of students who walk to school,” said Councilwoman Pam Sebesky. “If the sidewalks are coerced, those students are then out walking in the streets.”
Meteorologists in the Washington area have predicted snowier than average conditions for the 2018-19 winter season.
