SEATTLE — Seattle and King County are gearing up for the winter season and have released their priority snow plow maps.
The King County Department of Transportation has already had some snow and ice response in Skykomish, but this year, because of budget constraints, will only be able to cover 15 percent of county roads instead of the 30 percent covered in past years.
People in Seattle know a little snow can cause big problems.
“We don't know how to deal with it,” said Dick Hanson, who’s lived in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood for decades. “We've never driven in it except the guys who go skiing.”
On the Seattle map (above) the gold indicates main roads to be fully cleared within 12 hours. The green roads will have one lane in each direction cleared in 12 hours.
King County’s map (below) shows the snow coverage areas in red. And King County DOT is warning that this year is different. They will cover 15% of the county’s 1500 miles of roads.
So KIRO 7 asked why.
“It's the funding,” said Field Operations Manager Tony Ledbetter. “And we went through quite a bit of layoffs over the last few years, so we have to concentrate on those main arterials.”
But he says they’re ready. With a cold snap coming this weekend, Ledbetter says they’re prepared to staff snow response 24 hours a day.
“We'll be having trucks loaded this week for through the weekend and next week,” said Ledbetter. “And all our stockpiles are ready to roll.”