A city staff member in Des Moines said crews will prioritize clearing 750 miles of designated snow routes during an expected 24-hour snowfall so police, fire and ambulances can continue to move on major roads, then shift to plowing neighborhood streets when conditions allow.

The speaker described the city's two-step plowing strategy, saying, "We 2 step our plowing operations so that we can put all of our effort and all of our snow piles onto the snow route system." They added that concentrating effort on the snow-route system allows faster, safer movement on the city's primary roadways.

The speaker said the snow-route network covers 750 miles and is about one-third of the city's total roadway mileage; the remaining neighborhood streets total roughly 1,400 miles and are cleared only after plows finish the designated routes and the storm eases. "The snow route system is only about a third of our total mileage, so that remaining 1,400 miles of roadway is what we get to after the snow stops falling," the staff member said.

Explaining the purpose of the prioritization, the speaker said the routes keep major corridors open for emergency vehicles: "so that everyone can get around police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and everybody else." They also noted that "No 1 lives more than 4 blocks away from a snow route," framing the routes as broadly accessible for residents during a storm.

The speaker warned of the expected weather conditions and how they affect the schedule: "We're expecting a period that could see 24 hours straight of snowfall, and with snowplows concentrating all of their effort on the snow route system before they can start plowing the rest of the neighborhoods." They concluded by assuring the public that crews are prepared and will restore normal road conditions as quickly as possible: "Whatever mother nature decides to do with this snowstorm, we're ready for it and we'll be able to to push it off and get our roads back to normal as quickly as we can."

The speaker did not identify a department or provide a formal title during the remarks. The city did not announce any formal changes to policy or make a vote during this statement; it described routine operational priorities and timing for snow removal.