Mayor, city manager praise crews after historic snowfall; city reports 33,000 lane miles plowed

Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Manager Long opened the business portion of the Cincinnati City Council meeting by thanking public-safety and public-service employees for their response to a historic winter storm and describing ongoing recovery operations.

“This was the largest 2 day snowfall we've seen since 2008 and 1 of the heaviest accumulations in our entire history,” Mayor Aftab Pureval said, adding that crews and emergency responders had worked around the clock.

City Manager Long said the emergency operation center had been activated Sunday and described progress on clearing streets: “As of 1 PM crews have plowed 33,000 lane miles. That's equivalent to plowing this city 10 times,” Long said. She said crews were working 12-hour shifts and that Parks and the Department of Public Service were coordinating in neighborhoods with plow obstacles, such as Mount Adams.

Officials described services for residents during the storm: rec centers are open as warming shelters, the city is providing meals and clothing items through shelter partners, and the streetcar remained operational as a warm transit option downtown and over-the-Rhine. Trash, recycling and bulk-collection services are operating on a one-day delay, officials said.

Council members also thanked city crews. Council Member Owens said she appreciated “the quick work of DPS and all of the employees who are the essential workers during times like this.” Council Member Walsh and others echoed the mayor and city manager in praising first responders and municipal staff.

For residents: city officials urged use of the Cincy 311 app for service requests and asked residents to be patient as the city completes multi-day recovery operations.